Inside the spring 2025 fellowship: How higher ed’s future leaders are driving change

Reimagining Academic Affairs and Rebuilding Trust and Relationships

Keli A. Braitman, Vice President for Academic Affairs, William Jewell College

Challenge: Current societal and economic factors are impacting sustainability at small, liberal arts colleges, particularly those in the Midwest. Our challenge is to reimagine our current academic structure toward a more sustainable model and to rebuild trust among our faculty and staff in academic affairs.

Project: The vision for our reorganization includes a sustainable model, with a focus on partnerships, interdisciplinary and agile curriculum, and student-first mentality. We reorganized from 16 departments with approximately 40 majors to five interdisciplinary divisions, including a reimagining of some of our majors to maintain a focus on the humanities.

Early Results: To rebuild and strengthen trust, our campus leaders are working together with faculty and staff to clarify roles and responsibilities, reimagine shared governance, identify effective communication and collaboration strategies, develop shared understandings of processes and practices, and create opportunities for community.

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Future Faculty Compensation

Matt Davis, PhD, Chair, Associate Professor of Psychology, Wingate University

Challenge: I sought to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive faculty compensation study and plan at Wingate University, so that we might better recruit and retain talented faculty members.

Project: At Wingate, we have never had access to market salary data, disaggregated by discipline. Through this project, I advocated for the purchase of CUPA-HR data to identify the departments and faculty members across campus who might deserve a market-informed salary adjustment.

Early Results: In consultation with a vice provost, I used CUPA-HR data to create graduate and undergraduate comparison groups of similar universities. As we limited our comparisons to the universities most like Wingate (size, revenue, location) we are grouping similar academic disciplines together (e.g., social sciences, sport sciences), instead of analyzing by individual departments. Our analyses are ongoing, with a goal to create a comprehensive compensation strategy that incorporates discipline-specific market data to aid future salary adjustments.

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Supporting Faculty Excellence at Mississippi State University

Ashli Brown, PhD, Associate Vice President, Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine

Challenge: Mississippi State University identified the need to better support and retain faculty by addressing gaps in professional development, recognition, and overall well-being.

Project: My capstone project focused on advancing “faculty success” by compiling insights from EAB research and peer institutions. These resources informed a comprehensive strategy to enhance faculty recruitment, retention, and career-long support. We emphasized mentoring, recognition, and development aligned with institutional goals.

Early Results: The provost’s office launched a faculty success team this spring. The team has developed new initiatives, including a website celebrating faculty promotions and tenure. Early efforts are strengthening faculty engagement and helping the university better support excellence in teaching, research, and service.

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Faculty Peer Observations of Teaching

Mahalley Allen, Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs and Success, California State University, Chico

Challenge: Peer observations of teaching are an important component of holistic teaching evaluations, but the following challenges often limit their usefulness: academic departments approach peer observations in different ways; lack of institutional guidelines detailing best practices for conducting peer observations of teaching; and peer observations have not been adapted for mode of instruction delivery.

Project: My goal with the capstone project was to develop clear and comprehensive best practices, guidance, and sample templates for peer observations of teaching with consideration of the various modes of instruction.

Early Results: I reviewed current practices at my institution and have started drafting best practices and observation templates for modes of instruction. In fall 2025, I hope to work collaboratively with deans, chairs, and faculty to promote best practices and the use of peer observation templates.

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Advancing Excellence Through Lean-Based Continuous Improvement

Robyn Parr, MA (Leadership), PMP, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Executive Director, Office of the Vice-Provost, Students (OVPS)

Challenge: The long-term financial sustainability of universities remains challenging. Adopting a lean-driven continuous improvement roadmap across the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students (OVPS) portfolio, offers a practical, proven approach to empower staff, drive consistent decision-making, eliminate inefficiencies, and build capacity for meeting institutional goals.

Project: With major changes over the past decade and a leadership transition ahead in 2028, there’s an opportunity to build sustainable infrastructure for student services as U of T enters its third century. Key insights include the need to align with U of T’s budget model, assess change readiness, and navigate decentralization.

Early Results: The roadmap is being socialized. Training, process mapping, and funding are secured for a new role. Small staff-led projects have successfully reduced administrative burdens and enabled delegated decision-making. Collaborations with the Office of the Vice-President and Provost, UTM’s Project Management Office, and the AVP & Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives are also in progress.

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From Vision to Reality: Communicating Change to Gain Stakeholder Buy-In

Than Austin, Director of Transportation, NC State University

Challenge: Two years ago, NC State University adopted a new Physical Master Plan, establishing the vision for campus growth. But implementation of the plan has been challenging, revealing gaps
between the vision of the plan and the details of development.

Project: This project tackles a specific case study: the reduction of premium parking on the historic North Campus to make room for new buildings and pedestrian and greenspace improvements. To counteract customer complaints and create meaningful buy-in for the master plan vision, a three-pronged enhanced outreach approach was developed: 1) develop a strategic outreach
plan for North Campus parking, 2) prepare a parking infrastructure plan for the next ten years, and 3) engage high-level administrators and decision-makers.

Early Results: Outreach has begun and early results are positive. Meetings have been held with representatives from the Faculty and Staff Senates and other key North Campus stakeholders. An RFP for consultant services to help develop the 10-year parking infrastructure plan will be released soon, with work beginning this summer.

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Professional Advantage at Mines

Colin A. Terry, Assistant Vice President for Division of Student Life, Colorado School of Mines

Challenge: In an evolving higher education landscape, universities face declining enrollment, rising skepticism about value, and increasing demands from employers for graduates with both technical and professional skills. Although Mines graduates are known for their technical competence, feedback from alumni and industry emphasizes the need for stronger professional skill development as a shared characteristic of graduates.

Project Overview: To address these challenges, Mines is elevating professional development as a signature commitment of the student experience. Anchored in the strategic plan, this initiative highlights three pillars: Differentiated by Network, Deliberate with Communication, and Delivered through Experience. Through this student-facing commitment, we project secondary benefits to industry relations/partnership, alumni engagement, and advancement opportunities with private, corporate, and government partners.

Framework, and Beyond: The Mines Professional Advantage will amplify existing professional development efforts in and out of the classroom. With this framework set, forthcoming efforts include constituent engagement, identification of allies and early adopters, advancement of regular assessment efforts, and continued building on success.

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Enhancing Career Readiness

Dr. Andrea Radasanu, Assistant Vice Provost for Student Enhancement, Northern Illinois University

Challenge: The capstone project addresses the challenge of providing career development opportunities beyond traditional internships at Northern Illinois University. Recognizing that only 14% of students report participating in internships each year, the project sought to enhance career readiness for a diverse student body, with a large percentage of first-generation and Pell-eligible students.

Project: The project utilized EAB’s Integrating Academic and Career Development guide to create a strategic framework. Key initiatives include the Huskie Career Launchpad, a points-based badging platform that connects student experiential learning to career development, and the adoption of Forage into Navigate360 for job simulations. These initiatives represent the first steps to integrating career development into all aspects of the student experience.

Early Results: Early results included the establishment of the Career Launchpad architecture and student adoption plan via partnerships with orientation and UNIV 101. Future benefits should include improved career readiness and a more holistic approach to student career development.

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Strategic Recruitment for Institutional Growth

Kristi Forman, DBA, MEd, Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Director of Admissions Operations, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Challenge: The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is committed to graduating healthcare providers for Tennessee and beyond, yet total student enrollment has declined nearly 5% since 2021. At the same time, a shrinking pool of traditional college-age students and declining college-going rates threaten enrollment in graduate and professional programs. How can we leverage historical application data to develop an institution-level recruitment plan to drive future enrollment growth?

Project: To determine a recruitment strategy that will benefit the institution as a whole, the project considered the following resources:

1. UTHSC Strategic Plan
2. Submitted application data from the past three complete application cycles
3. Resources provided by EAB

An analysis of the number of applications per primary institution determined the top 50 application feeder schools, and over half of our application submissions are from those schools. Further analysis provided information related to application distribution by Tennessee county.

Early Results: Based on project findings, the following strategies are recommended:

1. Pre-Health Advisors
   1. Strengthen relationships with advisors at top 50 institutions
   2. Expand outreach to advisors across Tennessee
2. Rural Tennessee
   1. Increase recruitment in rural areas
   2. Build partnerships with community colleges
3. Enrollment Marketing
   1. Prioritize efforts at top 50 institutions
   2. Launch a Tennessee-specific marketing campaign
4. Programmatic Strategies
   1. Identify top feeder schools for each program
   2. Develop tailored marketing for each academic program

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A Framework to Guide Governance Review

Tanjit Kaur Nagra, Director, Office of the Vice-President, University of Manitoba

Challenge: The vice president (administration) at the University of Manitoba (UM) is responsible for oversight of 120+ policies, many of which are outdated and were originally assigned to this portfolio at the time of creation. As organizational structures evolved, it became necessary to assess whether the policy owner remains appropriate before addressing specific policy content. My capstone used the Commercial Advertising Policy—last updated in 1993 and lacking a formal procedure—as a case study to evaluate governance realignment needs.

Project: Through comparative benchmarking with peer institutions, consultation with internal stakeholders, and use of EAB resources on policy modernization, I developed a framework to guide governance review. For the Commercial Advertising Policy, I recommended transitioning oversight to the vice president (external) portfolio while developing operational procedures with support from the VP (administration) team.

Early Results: The recommended approach streamlines decision-making, ensures policy accountability aligns with organizational expertise, and better supports UM’s 2024–2029 strategic plan priorities for engagement, visibility, and external partnerships.

The Journey of Creating a Digital Strategy

Matt Norton, Associate Vice-President Digital Strategies & Chief Information Officer, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops BC

Challenge: There is an Information Technology Services division plan in place; however, the university lacks a strategic focus on an organizational digital strategy. The purpose of the capstone project was to advance the work of the digital strategy, especially around artificial intelligence (AI).

Project: The capstone project was to:

1. Advance the work of the digital strategy by connecting with and receiving feedback from senior leaders on the framework (straw dog) that has been developed.
2. Facilitate a deeper dive into AI tools and resources through EAB membership resources and the cohort learning session.

Early Results: The early results have been positive. I was able to connect with and receive feedback from my colleagues. Only minor changes were made for the key themes that resonated with the ad-hoc group. As well, I have made changes to the AI Program that we are beginning to implement based on the learnings from Session #5 and the EAB member resources.

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Developing a Campus-Wide Programming Model

Alison Sotolongo Miller, Assistant Dean for Student Engagement, Seton Hall University

Challenge: My strategic goal is to create a campus-wide programming model to increase campus involvement and engagement on the weekends to build community and create a sense of belonging for all students.

Project: For this goal, I set up to reimagine and innovate in three areas: addressing loneliness experienced by international and out-of-state students; establish a consistent weekend programming schedule that is realistic and manageable; and identify opportunities for social engagement outside of the tradition functional areas who are often responsible for these types of events.

Early Results: I have created the framework of the campus-wide programming model using current data and feedback from students and resources from EAB. Next steps include conducting focus groups with international and out-of-state students, identifying campus partners to partner with, and implementing low-pressure events on the weekends for early piloting purposes. I plan to submit this proposal to Seton Hall’s Idea Hall, a campus initiative that seeks to test out new and innovative ideas on campus.

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Developing a Residence Life Business Plan: Responding to Student Growth and Increasing Retention

Charles Sousa, Senior Associate Director of Housing Operations, Fairfield University

Challenge: My strategic goal is to figure out how we continue to support and engage our residential students in an environment where our growing residential population is nearing our residential capacity.

Project: I identified best practices to increase our current housing capacities on campus to ensure that all students have a place to live on campus. I also identified additional challenges that arise when increasing our capacities on campus that need to be addressed to minimize the impact on the student experience.

Early Results: In researching my topic, I found several different resources that support the steps that we have been taking at Fairfield to address our increasing student enrollments to address our housing shortcomings. I also found a few additional solutions that may benefit us if we exhaust all our current options. My research has also led me to start researching the long-term effects of maximizing student spaces, reduction of social spaces, as well as the impacts of a higher student to student-to-resident assistant ratio.

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Enhancing the First-Year Onboarding Student Experience

Nii Kpakpo Abrahams, Senior Director, Student Experience and Engagement, Butler University

Challenge: Butler University’s incoming students navigate a complex transition from deposit through their first year, interacting with multiple campus partners. This EAB capstone project aims to reimagine that experience into a more cohesive onboarding journey that enhances student belonging, improves communication, and supports retention.

Project: We began by identifying research that outlined both the ideal modern student experience and common, naturally occurring barriers during onboarding. After isolating eight key areas for improvement, I organized them into a prioritization matrix and mapped solutions to each phase of the student journey.

Early Results: All eight solutions are either in a pilot phase or in early-stage development. Campus partners are engaged, excited, and aligned in collaboration and improving their respective areas. When fully implemented, these efforts will meaningfully improve the onboarding experience for both students and families, from deposit through the end of their first year.

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The Upstander Project: Cultivating a Culture of Care on Campus

Dr. Nick Pinkerton, Associate Dean of Counseling Services and Wellbeing, Southern Connecticut State University

Challenge: Southern Connecticut State University identified a major challenge: many students in distress were not receiving timely help due to fragmented resources and a widespread bystander effect, where community members hesitated to act out of fear, uncertainty, or lack of preparation.

Project: The Upstander Project was developed to streamline wellbeing trainings and empower faculty, staff, and students to confidently support peers across issues like mental health, sexual misconduct, addiction, and bias. The project includes a foundational 45-minute training, a centralized website, recognition campaign, and a plan to pilot with athletics, residential life, and student leaders. EAB research on faculty engagement and campus wellbeing directly informed both the strategy and implementation steps.

Expected Results: The initiative is poised to increase early interventions, boost referrals to care, and strengthen SCSU’s culture of care. Over time, the Upstander Project aims to measurably improve student outcomes related to retention, persistence, and wellbeing.

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Improving Belonging and Retention at UNC

Harmony Newman, PhD, Professor of Sociology, University of Northern Colorado

At the University of Northern Colorado, we’ve seen that students with minoritized identities, including being first-generation, LGBTQ+, and disabled, often experience lower levels of belonging and engagement. This capstone project set out to better understand those gaps and identify what helps students feel connected and supported.

Using data from the HERI DLE survey, I analyzed how experiences like peer validation, bias, and institutional support relate to belonging and retention. With guidance from EAB’s Rising Higher Ed Leaders Fellowship, including expert coaching and peer collaboration, I turned those insights into actionable recommendations for UNC.

These findings can inform conversations around mentoring, faculty training, and bias response. Long term, this work will help us strengthen student belonging, increase retention, and build a more inclusive campus community.

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Retention at Edgewood College

Abbey Hadlich, Director of Student Success, Edgewood College

Challenge: My strategic goal was to review our retention data and then create a plan to improve retention for undergraduate students at Edgewood College.

Project: As part of a retention committee, we requested data from our Institutional Reporting team and also had select staff/faculty complete a self-assessment to gauge strengths and weaknesses from a variety of areas across the university related to student success and equity. We reviewed the data and best practices from EAB research, and drafted a rough list of priorities to complete along with action items for each priority.

Early Results: No action items have been implemented for us to see results yet. However, we are working on a few of them this summer and into the 2025-26 academic year. The next step is to assign task forces to implement action items.

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First to Fly: A First Generation Peer Mentor Program

Dr. Courtney Mattiace, Psy.D., Director of Health and Wellness Services, Albertus Magnus College

Challenge: Higher education retention trends show first-generation college students are retained less than their cohort counterparts, highlighting a need to elevate transitional supports, build connections and increase access to resources.

Project: Albertus Magnus’ First to Fly Peer Mentor Program was launched in spring 2025, connecting first-year first-generation students with first-generation peer mentors. A review of related research was conducted, and a rigorous peer mentor training program was developed and implemented.

Early Results: It is expected that the First to Fly Peer Mentor Program will help bridge the gap between student need and services delivered, while also demonstrating improved student outcomes related to connection, well-being, sense of belonging, and retention for student mentees and mentors alike. EAB research directly informed the strategy and implementation of the current mentor program, while also sparking ideas for future initiatives such as a First to Fly Alumni Affinity Group.

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Leveraging Integrated Platforms and Predictive Analysis to Increase Student Retention

Chelsea Smith, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Sam Houston State University

Project: My goal for this project is to enhance student retention by simplifying communication and engagement opportunities through a single platform. The data collected from this engagement tool will be used for predictive analysis to identify interventions that can prevent students from stop-out.

Drawing on insights from the EAB Rising Higher Education Leaders program, EAB research, and discussions with an Anthology Engage representative, I developed a strategy to utilize one platform for both student communication and data collection to improve retention. Currently, the project is in the testing phase.

Early Results: Based on the research conducted, I anticipate that streamlining technology with a unified engagement platform will increase student retention. Additionally, using data from the engagement tool will help forecast interventions to prevent stop-out, ultimately enhancing student persistence and retention.

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Improving Engagement and Scaling Supplemental Instruction in the Humanities

Lauren Razzore Cedeño, MS, MFA, Associate Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, William Paterson University

The Peer Support Network at William Paterson University is a student-to-student mentoring program that pairs successful students in targeted writing courses with underperforming or at-risk peers. The program is designed to supplement the support offered by the university’s Writing Center while fostering academic and personal connections among students. Participants earn extra credit in their courses, but more importantly, they build stronger relationships with both their peers and the university. This contributes to increased student retention and academic success.

Launched as a pilot in two phases, the supplemental instruction program tested different approaches, with and without faculty involvement. As we move toward expanding the initiative, insights from these initial semesters will guide our strategy for scaling the program effectively.

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