Innovators

Harris Search Associates

The Innovators podcast, a product of Harris Search Associates, features interesting conversations with global thought leaders in the areas of higher education and research, engineering, technology, and the health sciences and provides our listeners an opportunity to benefit from lessons learned from the national leaders changing the landscape of innovation and discovery.

  1. 11/18/2025

    The Governments' Role in Higher Education: A Brief Oral History (with Richard L. McCormick, PhD, President Emeritus, Board of Governors and Professor of History and Education at Rutgers University)

    Federal and state governments play significant roles in both public and private universities. The federal role in research is, at once, old enough to now span three-plus generations and yet recent enough that many people—ironically, those who rely on it most—are unaware of its origins. Recent actions by the federal government to cut billions of dollars from previously-approved research grants to universities, academic medical centers, and independent research institutes came as a shock to many, partly because they had assumed the process to be more or less engrained in law and policy and one of the ways by which research was funded. Richard McCormick—three-time president of major research universities and an historian—offers a clear and compelling account of how the federal role in research began during World War II and evolved over the decades that followed. In today's INNOVATORS, he presents that historical portrait and, in doing so, suggests that recent shifts in federal policy may be less surprising than some have expressed, as they are, at least in part, in keeping with the public's changed and changing broader understanding and appreciation of higher education. This is the second in a year-long series of INNOVATORS podcasts that began with the commentary of Daniel Linzer on the more prominent features of support for scientific and biomedical research. In the next podcast, the federal role of support for research in independent research institutes is examined. INNOVATORS Guest: Richard L. McCormick, PhD, President Emeritus, Board of Governors and Professor of History and Education at Rutgers University

    36 min
  2. 10/08/2024

    The State of Biomedical Research (with Claire Pomeroy, MD, MBA, President of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation)

    Dr. Claire Pomeroy is a distinguished physician, educator, and advocate for healthcare reform. With an undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Pomeroy has served on the medical faculties of the University of Kentucky, the University of Minnesota, and UC Davis, where she became the dean of the School of Medicine and is now professor emeritus. Her career has focused on addressing healthcare disparities, advocating for a proactive, preventative healthcare system that ensures equitable care for all populations, especially the underserved. Since June 2013, Dr. Pomeroy has been the president of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, where she provides strategic leadership in promoting medical research and public advocacy. The Lasker Foundation is renowned for its prestigious annual awards that recognize groundbreaking achievements in medical science and public service. Under her leadership, the foundation continues to inspire scientific innovation and discovery worldwide. Her life experiences, including overcoming a difficult childhood in the foster care system, have shaped her deep commitment to healthcare equality and compassion for disadvantaged populations. Dr. Pomeroy's unique blend of scientific expertise, leadership, and advocacy continues to impact the field of medical research and healthcare reform.

    40 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

The Innovators podcast, a product of Harris Search Associates, features interesting conversations with global thought leaders in the areas of higher education and research, engineering, technology, and the health sciences and provides our listeners an opportunity to benefit from lessons learned from the national leaders changing the landscape of innovation and discovery.