Episode Description

In this episode of the Engaged By Design Podcast, Dr. Michael Cottam is joined by Andrea Dunn, a strategic technology and operations leader with more than 20 years of experience driving large-scale initiatives in higher education.

Andrea shares behind-the-scenes insights from her work leading enterprise course materials and Open Educational Resource (OER) initiatives at scale—impacting tens of thousands of learners. Together, we explore what it really takes to implement meaningful change across complex systems while keeping students, faculty, and staff at the center.

This conversation is especially valuable for leaders working from the middle—those navigating priorities, resistance, and execution across institutional boundaries.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How OER and digital course materials can reduce cost while improving access and learning outcomes
• What large-scale change looks like behind the scenes in higher education
• How agile and product-focused leadership supports sustainable innovation
• Why listening, iteration, and empathy matter as much as strategy

Whether you work in academic leadership, instructional design, IT, or student support, this episode offers practical lessons for leading change thoughtfully and effectively.

Episode Description

What does it really take to lead change from the middle of an institution?

In Part 2 of this conversation, Dr. Michael Cottam and Dr. Christina Dryden explore leadership, trust-building, and the realities of managing change across complex higher education organizations. The discussion then turns to AI—how instructional design, assessment, and faculty roles are evolving, and why keeping humans in the loop matters more than ever.

This episode offers practical wisdom for academic leaders navigating constant change with clarity, authenticity, and hope.

Key Topics

• Leading change without positional authority
• Trust, transparency, and authenticity in leadership
• Learning from mentors and leadership experiences
• Using AI responsibly in instructional design and assessment
• Preparing institutions and faculty for the AI-enabled future

Guest

Christina Dryden
Vice Provost, American College of Financial Services

Explore the AI Course Design Accelerator at www.engagedbydesign.com

Episode Description

How do students really choose a college—and what do families often overlook?

In Part 1 of this conversation, Dr. Michael Cottam and Dr. Christina Dryden explore how students make college decisions, what criteria matter most to them, and why the true value of higher education goes far beyond rankings and prestige.

Drawing from Christina’s experience as a Vice Provost, assessment leader, and parent, this episode examines college choice through a human lens—focusing on formation, learning how to learn, relationships, and preparing students for a lifetime of change.

Key Topics

• How students evaluate colleges differently than parents expect
• Graduation rates, fit, and hands-on learning
• Why rankings often matter more to institutions than students
• The deeper return on investment of higher education
• Education as preparation for the eighth job, not the first

Guest

Christina Dryden
Vice Provost, American College of Financial Services

Explore the AI Course Design Accelerator at www.engagedbydesign.com

Episode Description

In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Kate Smith, we turn our focus to the future of learning, workforce development, and artificial intelligence in higher education.

Kate shares how Rio Salado College is partnering with national employers, emerging industries, and workforce organizations to create flexible, skills-based pathways for learners across the country. We explore partnerships with Guild Education, Walgreens, and a 3D concrete-printing company reshaping construction careers.

The conversation then dives deeply into AI literacy, ethics, and the responsibility of colleges to prepare learners for an AI-accelerated world—while preserving critical thinking, questioning, and human judgment.

This episode offers a hopeful, pragmatic vision of lifelong learning designed around access, adaptability, and real-world relevance.

Key Topics / Show Notes

• Rio Salado’s national workforce partnerships
• Working with Guild Education and employer-driven program design
• Pharmacy, nursing, and career-start pathways
• 3D-printed housing and future construction careers
• Preparing learners for emerging industries
• Serving adult learners, incarcerated learners, and ESL students
• On-ramps, off-ramps, and stackable credentials
• Microcredentials and durable skills
• AI literacy as a core educational responsibility
• Ethical and responsible use of AI in learning
• Redesigning teaching and assessment in the age of AI
• The future of digital learning environments
• Reducing friction and barriers to postsecondary access
• How leaders can engage more learners more effectively

Reflection Question

What can you do right now to embed AI literacy and ethical use into your learners’ pathways?

Episode Description

In Part 1 of our conversation, we sit down with Dr. Kate Smith, President of Rio Salado College, to explore how culture, empathy, and innovation shape sustainable leadership in higher education.

Kate shares her personal leadership journey—from completing an Ironman to stepping into the presidency at a pivotal moment—and reflects on what it takes to intentionally steward culture over time. We discuss Rio Salado’s long-standing commitment to innovation, the Four Practices of Engagement (mindfulness, empathy, happiness, and resilience), and how those practices helped guide the institution through periods of rapid change.

This episode offers a masterclass in values-driven leadership, showing how culture doesn’t happen by accident—it happens through daily, intentional choices.

Key Topics / Show Notes

• Kate Smith’s leadership journey and Ironman story
• Stepping into the presidency during a moment of change
• Why culture must be intentionally shaped by leaders
• Rio Salado’s history of innovation and continuous improvement
• The Four Practices of Engagement:
• • Mindfulness
  • Empathy
  • Happiness
  • Resilience
• Building connection and belonging in a distributed, online institution
• All-employee engagement during COVID
• Launching Rio Salado’s first Alumni Hall of Fame
• Empowering students as partners in innovation
• Learning from other industries to fuel higher-ed innovation
• Creating space for experimentation and “productive messiness”

Reflection Question

Where in your leadership are you letting culture happen instead of intentionally shaping it?

Episode Description:
In the final episode of this series, Dr. Tom Lombardo challenges us to see the future as a shared act of creation. Wisdom, agency, and responsibility—at both individual and collective levels—are essential to shaping what comes next.

Key Topics:
- The future as participatory, not predetermined
- Wisdom as future-directed action
- Individual and collective agency
- Nurturing the future through conscious choice

Find Dr. Lombardo's work on his website at: https://centerforfutureconsciousness.com/

Episode Description:
In part two, Dr. Tom Lombardo explores science fiction as more than entertainment—it is the evolutionary mythology of the future. This conversation examines how stories shape our imagination, reflect cultural values, and expand our understanding of what humanity could become.

Key Topics:
- Science fiction as modern mythology
- Stories as tools for ethical and future thinking
- Cultural reflection through science fiction
- Utopian and dystopian visions

Find Dr. Lombardo's work on his website at: https://centerforfutureconsciousness.com/

Episode Description:
In part one of this three-part series, Dr. Tom Lombardo reflects on the experiences that shaped his lifelong curiosity about time, history, and the future. From childhood fascinations with dinosaurs and the Civil War to formative lessons learned through weightlifting, mentorship, and education, Tom explores how character, discipline, and imagination form the foundation for wisdom.

Key Topics:
- Learning from the past to understand the present
- Mentorship and finding your own voice
- Discipline, character, and creativity
- Why imagination matters for future thinking

Find Dr. Lombardo's work on his website at: https://centerforfutureconsciousness.com/