Dr. Toshua Cornwell-Clark never set out to earn a doctorate. Her original goal was to become a cosmetologist.

But when a teaching opportunity at San Diego City College required a degree, one step led to another: an associate degree, a discovery of sociology, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and eventually an Ed.D. in Organizational Innovation and Leadership from National University.

In this episode of the Engaged By Design podcast, Vernon Smith talks with Dr. Tosh about that journey—and about what colleges and universities can learn from students whose education has to fit alongside careers, businesses, families, and the rest of life.

They discuss the importance of faculty mentorship, designing education around the whole student, connecting sociology with cosmetology and beauty standards, and Dr. Tosh’s research on texturism and Eurocentric beauty standards. She also shares the story behind her book Eternal Black Eye, her work as a children’s author, and the remarkable experience of earning a doctorate alongside her sister.

At the center of the conversation is a simple principle for educators: students may not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

In This Episode

• Dr. Tosh’s journey from beauty school to college professor and doctoral graduate
• How one sociology course changed the direction of her education
• Balancing education with business, teaching, and family responsibilities
• Why flexible programs matter for working adult learners
• The importance of responsive faculty mentorship
• Her 2026 Distinguished Golden Apple recognition from San Diego City College
• The story behind Eternal Black Eye
• The connection between sociology, cosmetology, beauty, and identity
• Her research on texturism and Eurocentric beauty standards
• What higher education leaders should understand about the whole student
• Two sisters earning their doctorates together
• Why caring for students has to become visible through action
• Hearing learners rather than merely listening to them

About Dr. Toshua Cornwell-Clark

Dr. Toshua Cornwell-Clark, Ed.D., is an adjunct professor, sociologist, public speaker, published author, and licensed beauty professional. Her scholarship brings sociology and cosmetology together to explore identity, internalized racism, texturism, and Eurocentric beauty standards.

She teaches at San Diego City College and is the recipient of the college’s 2026 Distinguished Golden Apple Award, an honor selected by students.

Her published works include Eternal Black Eye, The Adventures of Camp Pallo, The King and the Corn, Christmas, Kwanzaa, & the Snow Globe, and Jot & Journal: Affirmations.

https://toshuacornwellclark.com/books

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education

How do you lead meaningful change in higher education without letting turf wars, tradition, or institutional complexity stop the work?

In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Lori Carrell, Chancellor of the University of Minnesota Rochester, we move from the origins of College-in-3 to the leadership and organizational practices required to make innovation happen.

Lori explains why three-year degrees are not intended to replace the traditional four-year bachelor’s degree. Instead, they are one tool for asking a much bigger question: How can higher education become more student-centered, research-based, affordable, and effective?

We explore the University of Minnesota Rochester’s approach to evidence-based learning, its Get Forward Faster pathways, its partnership with Mayo Clinic, and the challenge of preserving an innovative culture as a young campus grows.

Lori also offers an important warning for innovators: yesterday’s innovators can become tomorrow’s barriers.

A true learning organization has to keep listening, studying, adapting, and redesigning around the students it serves today.

In This Episode

• Leading change without getting trapped in academic turf wars
• Why belief in the value of learning matters to leadership
• Working through conflict without personalizing it
• Why three-year degrees are an option, not a replacement for four-year degrees
• Using skepticism constructively
• Questioning assumptions embedded in the 120-credit model
• Designing from a blank canvas
• UMR’s three guiding principles
• Building research-based practices into every student’s experience
• UMR’s Get Forward Faster approach
• Work-based learning and the Mayo Clinic partnership
• Why curiosity may matter more than narrow technical skills
• Putting student learning and development first
• The University of Minnesota’s next phase of learning innovation
• How UMR operationalizes collaboration and transparency
• Scaling innovation without losing culture
• Why original innovators sometimes become institutional barriers
• Becoming a learning organization
• Listening directly to the learners institutions exist to serve

About Lori Carrell

Lori J. Carrell, Ph.D., is Chancellor of the University of Minnesota Rochester and co-founder of the College-in-3 Exchange.

Her leadership at UMR centers on transformative communication, learning innovation, student success, and wellbeing. The university’s work is guided by three principles: students are at the center, research informs practice, and partners make it possible.

Lori is also co-author with Robert Zemsky of Communicate for a Change: Revitalizing Conversations for Higher Education.

Resources Mentioned

University of Minnesota Rochester — Get Forward Faster
UMR’s current accelerated and early-assurance pathways connect undergraduate education with professional certificates and graduate programs.
Explore Get Forward Faster

University of Minnesota Rochester
Visit UMR

College-in-3 Exchange
Learn about College-in-3

College-in-3 Research and Resources
College-in-3 research and resources

Communicate for a Change
Lori Carrell and Robert Zemsky’s earlier book on the conversations higher education must have to change from within.
Johns Hopkins University Press

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education

How do you make specialized student services work virtually—and how do you know they’re actually making a difference?

In part two of our conversation with Mikayla Middleton, Director of Ohana Student Services, we explore how Ohana matches providers to student needs and strengths, works with schools and families, tracks student progress, and responds to shortages of specialized professionals.

Mikayla also shares powerful examples of relationships built across distance, including a virtual special education teacher who surprised one of her students at graduation—and received his rose as the person who had made a meaningful difference in his educational journey.

The conversation comes full circle around individualized learning, the power of believing in people, and Mikayla’s reminder to share a little “sparkle” along the way.

Topics include: provider matching, special education staffing shortages, parent advocacy, student progress data, virtual therapy and support, school partnerships, individualized learning, and student success.

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education

Mikayla Middleton’s path into education began with a love of teaching and a desire to help people who learn differently. Today, as Director of Ohana Student Services, she helps schools expand access to specialized services through a virtual model.

In this first part of our conversation, Mikayla talks with Michael Cottam and Vernon Smith about her journey from special education teacher to virtual education leader, the role of IEPs, the challenges schools face in providing specialized services, and how virtual delivery can connect students with the support they need regardless of location.

We also explore one of Mikayla’s favorite ideas: sometimes we need to borrow someone else’s belief in us until we can see those possibilities ourselves.

Topics include: special education, IEPs, virtual student services, teacher workload, access to specialized providers, rural education, and creating meaningful relationships with students online.

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education

What does it take to move dual enrollment from simply offering college classes to truly helping students build a pathway toward their future?

In part two of our conversation with Dr. EJ Anderson, we look closely at the Rio Salado College dual enrollment model and the systems that have helped thousands of high school students successfully earn college credit, and, in some cases, complete an associate degree before graduating from high school.

EJ explains the role of success coaches who bridge the worlds of high school and college, the importance of genuine partnerships with schools, and how national quality standards help ensure that dual enrollment courses provide authentic college-level learning.

We also hear powerful stories of students whose identities and futures changed through these opportunities, including first-generation students and students pursuing career and technical education pathways.

The conversation concludes with EJ’s powerful philosophy of learner engagement: don’t just tell students about the class. Help them see the dream the class can help them reach.

In this episode:

• What makes the Rio Salado dual enrollment model distinctive
• Why success coaches serve as a bridge between high school and college
• Building strong school-college partnerships
• NACEP standards and academic quality
• How dual enrollment can change a student’s identity
• Career and technical education pathways
• Teacher shortages and policy challenges
• Engaging learners by connecting education to their goals and dreams

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education

Dual enrollment has become one of the fastest-growing areas of higher education, but building a successful program takes much more than simply offering college credit in high school.

In part one of our conversation with Dr. EJ Anderson, we explore why students and parents are increasingly seeking dual enrollment opportunities, how dual enrollment differs from AP and IB, and what schools and colleges need to make these programs work at scale.

EJ draws on 18 years of experience in dual enrollment to discuss the importance of qualified teachers, strong leadership, clear communication with families, adequate staffing, and student support. We also explore the challenges that arise when institutions pursue enrollment growth without investing in the infrastructure needed to serve students well.

Along the way, EJ shares stories showing how dual enrollment can save students time and families money while opening new pathways into college and careers.

In this episode:

• Why dual enrollment is growing nationally
• Dual enrollment compared with AP and IB
• The importance of qualified high school instructors
• How leadership shapes successful programs
• What parents and students need to understand
• Enrollment fatigue and other barriers
• Why teachers have such a powerful influence on participation
• The tension between enrollment growth and program quality

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education

Why does a bachelor's degree require 120 credits? And what happens when an institution asks whether those credits actually represent the learning students need?

In Part 2 of our conversation with Brian Ashton and Boyd Baggett, we examine the development of the three-year, 90-credit bachelor's degree offered through BYU-Idaho and BYU-Pathway Worldwide.

Boyd takes us behind the scenes of a process that began years before approval: changes in accreditation standards, a growing emphasis on student learning outcomes, collaboration with the College in 3 movement, and a willingness to question assumptions built into the traditional credit-hour model.

But shortening a degree isn't simply a matter of removing 30 credits. Brian and Boyd explain what had to remain, what students may give up, why the model isn't right for everyone, and why clearly defined and assessed learning outcomes are essential to maintaining quality.

The conversation then turns toward institutional mission, values, AI, rapid change, and what higher education leaders will need to navigate the future.

In this episode:

• Why BYU-Idaho pursued a 90-credit bachelor's degree
• How accreditation standards created an opening for innovation
• Why the Carnegie credit hour was never designed as a measure of student learning
• Building support for the three-year degree
• The enrollment response after the new degree was announced
• Why a shorter degree cannot simply mean cutting 30 credits
• Which students benefit most—and which may not
• What students give up in a more prescriptive degree pathway
• Employer and graduate-school response to the three-year degree
• Preserving institutional mission while redesigning curriculum
• Navigating AI, changing values, and a rapidly changing world
• Brian and Boyd's advice for engaging learners more effectively

The three-year degree raises a larger question for higher education: If students can demonstrate the learning they need in less time and at lower cost, what assumptions are we willing to reconsider?

Guests: Brian Ashton, President, BYU-Pathway Worldwide; Boyd Baggett, Associate Academic Vice President for Curriculum, BYU-Idaho

Hosts: Michael Cottam and Vernon Smith, Engaged by Design

Join us at www.engagedbydesign.com to learn more about

• The Course Design Accelerator
• Faculty-in-the-Loop AI in Higher Education