ALP: The Admissions Leadership Podcast
Education & Explainer
About
Ken Anselment hosts a series of one-on-one conversations with people who have been climbing the leadership mountain in the world of college admissions. Some are nearing the summit. Some are already there. But how did they get there? And what can other climbers learn from their mindsets, habits, and experiences? © Ken Anselment 2024
Episodes
- Coming Back to Ourselves: Solitude with Angel Pérez
In this episode, Angel Pérez, CEO of NACAC, shares how periods of solitude, meditation, and journaling have become essential leadership practices for him, particularly after experiencing burnout. The discussion explores how intentional tim…
- Coming Back to Ourselves: Deep Listening with Brian Pertl
In this episode of ALP: The Admissions Leadership Podcast, Brian Pertl discusses the practice of deep listening, a concept by Pauline Oliveros. The conversation explores how paying attention to the world and oneself can awaken creativity,…
- Coming Back to Ourselves: Microdosing Awe with Joy Jordan
In this episode of The Admissions Leadership Podcast, Ken and mindfulness teacher Joy Jordan discuss "microdosing awe" and practical mindfulness techniques for the admissions season. They explore how small pauses can restore perspective an…
- Emily Smith: This One Goes to 11
On the Season 11 finale of ALP, Emily Smith, VP of Partner Success at CollegeVine, joins host Ken to discuss podcast origin stories, creating a more open show format, and the role of AI as a thought partner. They also explore consulting st…
- Chris George: On Joy, Grit, Epic Runs and Organ Donation
Chris George shares his experiences in enrollment leadership, emphasizing joy and grit, and discusses personal stories including organ donation and family triumphs. The episode also touches on international enrollment challenges and offers…
- Jen Gagne: Laughter, Leadership and Memorable Rituals
Even though we've only known each other for less than two years, this episode feels like one between two old friends. The newly-minted Dr. Jen Gagne , Executive Director of Admissions at Colorado School of Mines , brings warmth and wit whi…
- Brian Troyer: On Pausing to Let Our Soul Catch Up
Brian Troyer, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Marquette University, joins the ALP for a conversation that explores the deep roots of Jesuit leadership and the lighthearted joys of life in Milwaukee, including: Marquette’s Gift…
- Candace Boeninger: Holding Power with Purpose
Candace Boeninger, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Ohio University, joins the ALP to share lessons from her journey into senior leadership, reflecting on her experience working with an executive coach and how it helped her navi…
- Rakin "Rock" Hall: From the Standup Stage to the Enrollment Stage
Rakin “Rock” Hall , Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Ithaca College , brings a unique mix of reflection, humor, and leadership to The Admissions Leadership Podcast. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rock sha…
- Phil Moreno: Finding Stillness in Motion
Phil Moreno —Associate Director of College Counseling at the Nueva School and Board Chair for the National Association for College Admission Counseling —joins this episode of The ALP to talk about what it means to lead leaders in challengi…
- Thyra Briggs: Baseball, Cover Letters, Grace and Transparency
From a childhood “baseball club” in Boston to becoming a Dean of Admission at just 27, Thyra Briggs , Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid at Harvey Mudd College, has built a career defined by curiosity, courage, and care. In thi…
- Jeremy Lowe: The Power of Punk Rock, Long Walks and Under-reacting
Jeremy Lowe , Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Admission at American University , has built his leadership style on lessons from three seemingly different places: the punk rock stage, long walks through D.C., and intentional pauses…
- Justin Rummel: From Policy to Purpose in Enrollment Leadership
In this episode of The Admissions Leadership Podcast , Justin Rummel , Vice President for Enrollment at Susquehanna University , shares how his journey to the VP seat followed anything but the traditional path. With no background in admiss…
- Lisa Keegan: Leading with Purpose in a Time of Transition
Lisa Keegan returns to the mic just as she prepares to step into her new role as the inaugural Vice Provost for Enrollment Strategy at William & Mary . With signature candor, humor, and heart, Lisa reflects on her five-year tenure at Buckn…
- Peak Perspectives: Assumptions and Decisions
Have you ever caught yourself making an assumption about someone's capacity for success based on where they come from or the challenges they've faced? At this time of year, when many admissions offices are deep in application review, it se…
- Peak Perspectives: A Purposeful No
Have you ever paused to consider the path you were on? Maybe that reflection led to affirmation, a definitive “Yes, this is the right direction.” Then again, maybe you sensed a quiet voice asking the question, “Are you sure this is the rig…
- Peak Perspectives: Living with the Imposter
Have you ever faced an opportunity that made you question your readiness, your abilities—even your worth? In this Peak Perspective, I share a story from Marie Bigham, founder of ACCEPT and IQID, who wrestled with self-doubt when she was in…
- Peak Perspectives: Embrace the Unexpected
Have you ever made a decision so unexpected that it completely changed the course of your life? Welcome to Peak Perspectives , a short-form spinoff of the ALP, where I share insights and stories from my new book, Climbing the Admissions Le…
- Season 10 Premiere
Season 10 kicks off with exciting news and an audible sneak preview. (And that, dear listener, is what folks in the business call a teaser.) The ALP is supported by Human Capital Education . Music arranged by Ryan Anselment
- The Admissions Directors Lunchcast Meets The ALP
Nathan Ament and Teege Mettille are the creators and co-hosts of the hit podcast, The Admissions Directors Lunchcast . They share different versions of their podcast's origin while somehow enticing Ken to share how the ALP came to be. Also…
- Michael Keaton
(No, the other one.) What happens when two avowed GenXers record a podcast episode? From the host you get a bad reference to C+C Music Factory; from the guest you get helpful lessons on "how to vice president." Michael Keaton, VP for Enrol…
- Carin Smith
Carin Smith , domestic recruitment manager and Chicago regional representative for Beloit College (and a former member of Ken's team at Lawrence who helped him learn how to be an admissions director through a creative partnership she arran…
- Jeff Blahnik
From the time he was a little boy, Jeff Blahnik always wanted to be "an attorney," but a moment of crisis halfway through law school changed his path. He's now the Vice President of Enrollment Management at the University of Oklahoma , and…
- Angela Frazier
Angela Frazier , Vice President of Student Services at Waukesha County Technical College (the ALP's first guest two-year college enrollment leader and the first African-American leader in WCTC's 100-year history) shines a light on what peo…
- Justin Draeger
Justin Draeger , President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators , joins the ALP to share what colleagues in admissions, enrollment, student success, presidents' offices, etc. can do to support their f…
- Rick Bailey on the importance of coherence, relevance, and organizing your work around your core values
Richard Harrison Bailey —the RHB behind RHB —joins the ALP to discuss the principle of Coherence ; the virtuous cycle of relevance, relationships and revenue for colleges; the difference between market position and brand; and how the value…
- Laura Kaub of the UNHCR asks, "Why is it so hard for exceptional students to get access to education?"
Laura Kaub , director of the Duolingo partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees program, talks about keeping refugees and African students out of the "hole" in holistic admission so they can get into the economic,…
- Dan Saavedra on How He (and Others) Built StriveScan
How does someone go from being a lawyer and a photographer to found and lead the company that has reshaped the college fair experience for millions of students and more than 15,000 admission professionals representing more than 2500 instit…
- Jen Dewar on Talking Yourself Into Doing Scary Things
What is it like to leave the familiarity of higher ed to join a tech company with a vision to change how the world thinks about language testing? Jen Dewar , Senior Director of Strategic Engagement for the Duolingo English Test , shares ho…
- David Burge on Rational Transfer Policy, the Value of Service, and Oxford Commas
Get ready for an episode rife with random references when David Burge , VP for Enrollment Management at George Mason University and winner of the Margaret E. Addis Service to NACAC Award , joins the ALP to discuss ADVANCE, a model transfer…
- Carolyn Noll Sorg on Experience Design and Going from Alongside Back to Inside Higher Ed
We have featured a bunch of folks who have gone from inside to "alongside" higher ed (including your host). Carolyn Noll Sorg, VP for Enrollment at John Carroll University has chosen to go in the other direction, and reminds us of the thin…
- Ethan Sawyer on Figuring Out Who You Are and What You Care About
Season Premiere: Ethan Sawyer , founder of College Essay Guy , kicks off Season 8 of the ALP and we quickly learn it's not about the essay ... it's about figuring out who you are and what you care about. We talk about the applicability of…
- A Time for Leadership, Not Retrenchment—Paths forward after SCOTUS decisions in Harvard & UNC cases
In this special edition, Art Coleman ( @ArtColemanDC ), managing partner and co-founder of EducationCounsel (and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights), shares the initial chapter…
- Joffery Gaymon
Season Finale: Dr. Joffery Gaymon , Vice President for Enrollment at Auburn University , shares what it's like (and what it takes) to make the jump to one of the biggest roles at one of the most recognizable institutions in the U.S. She sh…
- W. Kent Barnds
Kent Barnds , Executive Vice President of ExternalRelations: Advancement | Communication | Enrollment | Planning for Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), shares how he started as "an accidental admissions person" and become the person wi…
- Robert Gould, "Changing Admissions From Selecting to Belonging"
Robert Gould , Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management at Augsburg University (Minneapolis), offers a deep dive into an approach to college admission that is turning the process on its head and—in the process—not only fostering…
- Allan Mathew
Allan Mathew , Director of Graduate Admissions at Tufts University, discusses the similarities and differences of graduate and undergrad admissions and what he's learned working at three institutions in very different market positions. He…
- Heather Daniels
Heather Daniels , Director of Admissions at Colorado State University , discusses how she's managed to "come home" to every college she has ever worked for ... and discovers that she and Ken have a surprising braided history. Rapid Descent…
- Boyd Bradshaw
Boyd Bradshaw , the inaugural Vice President for Enrollment Management at Towson University (MD), discusses Towson's new comprehensive and integrated approach to enrollment—from recruitment to graduation—and what it has been like organizin…
- Christopher Gray
In this metaphor-loaded episode, Christopher Gray , Dean of Enrollment at Lasell University, discusses living and learning through a successful launch of a tuition reset, why communities matter to marathoners, and a nifty trick to try in y…
- "A Profession on the Edge" with Eric Hoover
Eric Hoover , Senior Writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education , joins the ALP to discuss his April 5 Chronicle article, A Profession on the Edge: Why enrollment leaders are wearing down, burning out, and leaving jobs they once loved . H…
- Mary Chase
Season Premiere: Mary Chase , Vice Provost for Enrollment at Creighton University , kicks off the season from her fortress of solitude (which will make sense when you listen), and shares how growing up on a farm, being a college mom, and l…
- Vern Granger
Season Finale: Vern Granger , Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Connecticut AND the Chair of the Board for the National Association for College Admission Counseling shares what it takes to manage two jobs that, in t…
- How Creighton Improved Its First-Year Retention to 92%
Wayne Young , Charisse Williams , Mary Ann Tietjen and Joe Ecklund of Creighton University's interdivisional student success team share some of the secret sauce behind how Creighton built and maintained a 3-point jump in first-year student…
- Andy Borst
Andy Borst , Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, shares tips on nurturing and managing relationships with the media (with hat-tips to Scott Jaschik and Eric Hoover) . Andy also shares his mo…
- Joe Montgomery
Joe Montgomery may be one of the busiest people between enrollment jobs right now: a member of the advisory board to the Partnership for Education Advancement ; a consultant through the United Negro College Fund; and now one of the newest…
- Visionaries and Integrators: Complementary Collaboration
Tim Fields (Emory University) and Shereem Herndon-Brown (Strategic Admissions Advice)—co-authors of The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions: A Conversation about Education, Parenting and Race , and co-hosts of the podcast, Applicati…
- James Miller
James Miller , Assistant Vice Provost and Dean of Admission at Seattle University , reflects on the value of self-reflection in your own decision-making, the power of pausing when you're "in the grip," and why "relaxed is fast, slow is rel…
- "I Shouldn't Be The First"
Five women who ascended to leadership roles just before or during the pandemic discuss what it's like to be the first in their roles—first woman, first person of color, first first-generation college student, first transfer students. Get r…
- Ineliz Soto-Fuller
Ineliz Soto-Fuller , Assistant Vice President of Undergraduate Admissions for Enrollment Management at Seattle Pacific University , discusses how to lead with integrity and authenticity in the midst of challenging circumstances. Turns out…