Get Down to College Business

Sarah Holtan, PhD

Welcome to Get Down to College Business. We will identify strategies that could make the difference between keeping university doors open and closing them for good. I'm pulling in business experts and higher ed leaders to debate the merits of strategies that could save the future of higher ed. You will leave feeling empowered with new ideas to reimagine how you approach the business of college to support the cause of the affordable college experience. Visit us at highlevelleadership.com, read our blog and join our email list to get connected. Follow us and leave a positive review on your favorite podcast app. I'm your host, Sarah Holtan, PhD. Let's Get Down to College Business.

  1. MAR 24

    The Cost of Shared Governance with Brian Rosenberg, PhD

    Sarah Holtan, PhD explores the complexities of college leadership with Brian Rosenberg, PhD, Visiting Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education, focusing on the pressures modern college presidents face. They discuss the need for transparent, honest, and authentic communication, especially in times of social media outrage. Brian discusses the value of a clear mission and student-centric decision-making, while also challenging traditional tenure models. The conversation wraps with strategies for more inclusive shared governance and ways to stay calm and effective amidst chaos. Episode Highlights: 03:19 - It's important to note that that model, even in its original document, is contingent upon an assumption that all parties will essentially be rolling in the same direction. All parties will have the good of the institution at the front of their mind and at least a general shared understanding of what that good is. 09:27 - The poor Chair of our Faculty Personnel Committee had to go out and just sometimes beg his colleagues to run for election because nobody wanted to make the time commitment. 12:11 - If I had to identify one group that is probably the most overlooked in shared governance, it would be Student Affairs staff. And it's ironic in the fact that students spend most of their time out of class and some of the most difficult work out on the 20:09 - One of the one of the problems that tenure has created is a dramatically inequitable system, within faculty teaching. So you have on one side of the divide tenured faculty, who generally have a lot of security. Depending upon the nature of the institution, they could be pretty well compensated and have a lot of autonomy and control. On the other side of the divide, you have non-tenure track or NTT faculty. They are often very poorly compensated, have no security at all, and have no voice in the say of the institution. For me, a more effective and equitable system would be to hire people, as is done in just about every other field, with multiyear contracts, with an established schedule of reviews, and the possibility for those contracts to be renewed and extended and maybe even lengthened. Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Website Brian Rosenberg, PhD LinkedIn Book Support the Woman of Impact Campaign

    38 min

  2. MAR 10

    Every Square Foot has a Strategy with Chris Morett, PhD, MPP

    Most colleges are sitting on a treasure or a time bomb when it comes to their campus facilities. Everyone wants the best buildings to attract students and faculty, but what if chasing shiny new construction is actually harming your institution’s future? Sarah Holtan, PhD talks to Chris Morett, PhD, MPP, the President at Co|Here Campus and Workplace, who pulls back the curtain and says it straight: space isn’t just an asset, it’s a strategic tool and most schools are getting it wrong. Campus leaders are struggling to balance the pressure for modern spaces, deferred maintenance, and tight budgets. What if the real key to enrollment and financial health isn’t building, but how you use what you already have? Dr. Morret shares the hard truths and quick wins that every decision-maker needs now. Curious how you can avoid multimillion-dollar mistakes and actually get a return on your facilities? Listen in for real strategies to turn your space into a competitive advantage. Episode Highlights: 04:45 - So coming at it from the activity perspective is kind of the bottom line. And it helps to get out of thinking of things just as four walls spaces, which need to be taken care of. 06:28 - I think also you see a serious interest, and I'm not saying it's always enacted or followed up on, it doesn't always appear in governance, but real interest and embrace of the fact that education is different now, whether it's more online courses, not just students who are from afar, but students who are either residential or commuters who maybe take 3 classes a year that are hybrid or online in addition to 7 in person. So it's really a mix now. It's not just this: "Oh, we have an online division." 18:34 - I think to say that 10% or 15% of our courses could be hybrid is far from the most activist decision ever made by a university administration. So you do that, and then if 15% of your courses all of a sudden meet one day a week instead of two, well, that's a lot of classroom space you just saved. 24:09 - Our goal for this building should be for it to be a tour, a stop on the campus tour. So, hey, we all do it. Whether it's putting on a nice shirt from the neck up for a Zoom call, or hiding something in the bedroom when your house is messy and you have guests, like, if you do that with intention, what's the alternative? Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Chris Morett, PhD, MPP LinkedIn Website Workshop on "Planning & Evaluating One-Stop Student Services Centers: Space, Tech, Personnel." EdUp Campus Planning Support the Woman of Impact Campaign

    28 min

  3. FEB 24

    Building Meaningful Community Connections with Jessie Cannizzaro

    Sarah Holtan, PhD, talks with Jessie Cannizzaro, owner of Milestone Plumbing, about the true meaning of community and how businesses can teach colleges to connect with their neighbors in ways that matter. If you’ve ever wondered why universities struggle to partner with local businesses, Jessie’s experiences might change your mind about what community really is. Jessie shares how her business balances profit, passion, and service, revealing why even a small gesture—like collecting pop tabs—can spark huge impact. You’ll hear how employees’ personal “why” drives engagement, and why listening beats boardroom strategy every single time. Want to know why the secret to better town-gown relations starts with getting out of the boardroom and into the neighborhood? Tune in and learn from Jessie Cannizzaro’s candid insights on making business and social impact one genuine connection at a time. Episode Highlights: 04:55 - It's one singular community. It's not just this local area, it's the associations and the things that we're involved in at the state level, at the regional level, now at the national level, because it's one community that's doing collaborative efforts for a greater good. 09:08 - I lay them out in advance, which can sometimes be frustrating when people want a quick meeting, you know, oh, I wanna show you this demo on something that I probably don't need, and they get irritated that I can't make that time. But it's not that I'm saying no, always I'm always trying to be rude, but more importantly, I've committed to things. My schedule fills up quickly, so I think the time management is probably the most important part. 10:55 - We're very transparent, so they know if we're getting involved in an initiative, they know well in advance and have the ability to come along with during the planning stage, which I think is really important. 14:52 - I think sometimes it's easy from like a boardroom to try to make decisions, but if you don't know the people, you don't know what's going to matter to them. Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Jessie Cannizzaro Support the Woman of Impact Campaign LinkedIn Website Milestone Plumbing Resources Locus: Take Control and Change the Direction of Your Life The THRIVE Journal: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Create and Accomplish Your Goals Chief Energy Officer: the #newCEO: How high-performing leaders manage people, pressure, and profit to build thriving organizations Quantum Lead: How Visionary Leaders harness a hidden energy to create massive breakthroughs, accelerate growth and transform organizations High-Performance Leadership: Success Strategies to Grow Yourself and Your Organization (2025),Vision to Business: A No-Nonsense Blueprint to Help You Turn Ideas into Income The Mission Mover: Laser Focus Your Time and Energy to Build a Mission that Lasts!

    18 min

  4. FEB 10

    The Great AI Debate: Embrace AI to What Extent? with Suzy Siegle and Melik Peter Khoury

    Sarah Holtan, PhD brings together campus leaders who don’t just talk about AI—they’re reshaping the way universities operate. In this episode, Melik Peter Khoury, DBA, CEO and President of Unity Environmental University, and Suzy Siegle, EdD, JD, CEO and President of Walsh College, go beyond the tired “ban vs. embrace” debates. They unpack how progressive campuses are integrating AI not as a bolt-on tool, but as a transformative force across the institution, from grading and advising to student support and academic integrity. Suzy shares Walsh College’s approach to ethical AI use, digital twins, and practical policies, while Melik reveals why assessment, curriculum design, and even the future of work are all being reimagined for an AI-enabled campus. Discover how faculty and staff become more valuable and fulfilled when AI boosts their productivity and impact and why students must learn to think with AI, not cheat with it. Is AI fluency the survival skill colleges need most? Hear Suzy Siegle and Melik Peter Khoury challenge old models and lay out what’s next for higher education. If you’re ready to move past skepticism and start building the future, this conversation will show you where to begin. Episode Highlights: 08:54 – Melik Peter Khoury: There is a combination here of training, but there’s also this idea that how we assess learning is going to have to fundamentally change in an environment where historically we have always been the curators and generators of knowledge. 14:08 – Suzy Siegle: We’re not just teaching it, we’re integrating [AI] into how we learn with the avatar through the company that we have equity in and that works with us on campus to do ed tech constrained AI. 27:14 – Melik Peter Khoury: If we want to freeze tuition while ensuring that our employees are ahead of the curve with inflation, innovation is the only way to go. Scale is the only way to go. So it creates a whole new mindset for our employees about how AI is not being used to cheat or time steal, but to increase the value of my position. Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Suzy Siegle, EdD, JD LinkedIn Website Melik Peter Khoury, DBA LinkedIn Website Support the Woman of Impact Campaign Resources Locus: Take Control and Change the Direction of Your Life The THRIVE Journal: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Create and Accomplish Your Goals Chief Energy Officer: the #newCEO: How high-performing leaders manage people, pressure, and profit to build thriving organizations Quantum Lead: How Visionary Leaders harness a hidden energy to create massive breakthroughs, accelerate growth and transform organizations High-Performance Leadership: Success Strategies to Grow Yourself and Your Organization (2025),Vision to Business: A No-Nonsense Blueprint to Help You Turn Ideas into Income The Mission Mover: Laser Focus Your Time and Energy to Build a Mission that Lasts!

    48 min

  5. JAN 27

    How Provosts Shape Financial Decisions with Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner

    Money matters in higher ed, but who really shapes the financial reality on campus? Sarah Holtan, PhD sits down with the Vice President for Academic Affairs at La Roche University, Gregor Thuswaldner, PhD for a straight talk on what it takes to keep college doors open, and why academic leaders can’t ignore the numbers anymore. Most believe CFOs hold the purse strings, but Dr. Thuswaldner argues that provosts who focus only on academics risk being sidelined. From forming “no scapegoat” alliances to getting smart about program cuts and new revenue streams, every decision can either build trust or leave the institution vulnerable. What happens to campus morale and academic influence when tough choices get passed off to the finance office? Listen in as Dr. Thuswaldner shares his honest strategies for keeping both the mission and the spreadsheet strong. Episode Highlights: 10:08 – “If the relationship between the provost and CFO is strained, everyone will know. It erodes trust—and campus culture pays the price.” 14:02 – “Owning tough decisions, not scapegoating finance, is essential. The alternative? Marginalization.” 24:00 – “Program viability isn’t just about the numbers. Faculty have to help reimagine what survival looks like, or risk losing it all.” Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Gregor Thuswaldner, PhD LinkedIn Book

    37 min

  6. JAN 13

    Save 30% by Uncovering a Blind Spot with Anamika Wadhawan

    You work hard to keep your college running, but what if you’re losing money every month without realizing it? Sarah Holtan, PhD sits down with Anamika Wadhawan, Senior VP of Sales at SIB, to shine a light on “spend drift” and invoice anomalies—those sneaky charges and contract errors that slowly eat away at your budget. Fixing your finances isn’t just about slashing resources; it’s about catching the errors and inefficiencies hidden in plain sight. Are you sure your institution isn’t leaving thousands—or even millions—on the table just because of outdated contracts or unnoticed overcharges? Listen in for proven strategies and practical questions every college CFO should be asking right now. This episode features Anamika Wadhawan, SIB’s SVP of Sales, and goes straight to the heart of saving smarter, not harder, in higher ed procurement. Episode Highlights: 04:16 - If you think of just a basic invoice, you might have one thing that doesn't look right, but when you're looking at it month over month, and when these kinds of anomalies start repeating and happen across an entire portfolio spend for an organization, across invoices and in vendors and across time, it really compounds, and adds up to very meaningful operational and financial impacts for our clients. 08:45 - We're consistently finding big savings opportunities. And when we think about how, to your point or to your question, we're looking at things like contract and pricing compliance. So are the two lining up? Do we even need to right size or correct the contract? Because in a 10 or 15, even 5-year period, a lot has changed and there might be different needs and different ways to actually right size that contract. 15:57 - I truly believe and come from a world where an organization's most valuable assets is its data and information, and really making sure that whatever we're doing when we're working with these, even you mentioned earlier outsourcing, that we're not letting our data be used to train another software solution or be used for another outside purpose. Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Anamika Wadhawan LinkedIn Website

    27 min

  7. 12/09/2025

    Financial Stress Signals You Can't Ignore with Daniel Greenstein

    Sarah Holtan, PHD sits down with Daniel Greenstein, PhD, Managing Director at Baker Tilly US, for a blunt conversation about the hidden financial risks many colleges are ignoring. Greenstein, a leader in higher education consulting and former Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, reveals why traditional financial metrics don't paint the full picture of an institution's health. Greenstein breaks down nine "risk archetypes"—structural patterns that quietly erode long-term institutional stability—and exposes three accelerators that intensify vulnerability. On the positive side, he shares three indicators of resilience, offering strategies for institutions to weather future headwinds. This chat is a must for anyone in higher ed tired of wishful thinking and eager for practical advice on identifying and addressing financial stress before it's too late. Are colleges failing to look beyond basic balance sheets and missing the early warnings of fiscal distress? Listen in as Greenstein reveals why a deeper dive into financial health is crucial for navigating higher education's toughest challenges. Episode Highlights 04:33 - People will do anything to balance their budgets. So I started to become more familiar with what I call the adjusted operating margin, where you back out investment income and other income, which is all the stuff that people are throwing into their revenue sources to pay their bills. 07:05 - We ended up taking six of our schools and turning them into two, integrating them again. Those are the deepest kind of cuts in expenditure. We ended up rationalizing where we could, the academic program rate because it was too broad. I mean, we had to do things at speed that universities are not accustomed to doing. 13:09 - The leverage led bet is basically debt based. So you see debt going up that the revenue margin shifting, and it's built on this expectation that you're going to see revenue growth as a consequence. Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn Daniel Greenstein, PhD LinkedIn Risk Archetypes Seeing Financial Stress Before It Hits

    33 min

  8. 11/25/2025

    Should You Blow Up Your Budget Model? with David Rosowsky, PhD

    Sarah Holtan, PhD, sits down with Dr. David Rosowsky PHD, Chief optimism officer, connector, collider, university senior leader, and author, for a masterclass in a subject that makes most academics run for the hills: the university budget model. In this blunt and refreshingly clear conversation, Dr. Rosowsky—sometimes called the "Ted Lasso of higher ed"—cuts through the jargon and political noise to reveal why so many institutions get budget model transitions dangerously wrong. Dr. Rosowsky breaks down the critical difference between a university’s budget (the amount of money available) and its budget model (the rules for allocating that money). He explains the spectrum of models, from highly centralized systems to the more transparent Responsibility Centered Management (RCM), and clarifies that the “best” model depends on an institution's unique culture and strategic goals. The conversation offers crucial guidance on the why, when, and how of changing a budget model, stressing that the best time for change is during periods of stability, not crisis. Dr. Rosowsky also discusses the right level of faculty engagement and identifies deans and department heads as the key drivers of a successful budget system. This is a must-listen for leader looking to align financial strategy with institutional mission.   Episode Highlights: 05:24  -  What they sort of assume is that if we fix the budget model, we somehow fix the budget, or we somehow create new revenue or new money, so that conflation happens all the time. The budget model is not the budget. 12:01 -  The decision to change the budget model is made at the wrong time, right? It's made when campuses feel there's a crisis present or a crisis looming. 22:58 - Why are we doing this? What are the outcomes we hope to achieve? What are the fears or concerns or worries or anxieties we might have that we can track and monitor? 26:56 - The levers that can be pulled. Those are being pulled by department chairs and by deans. Sarah Holtan, PhD LinkedIn David Rosowsky, PhD LinkedIn What’s the Best Budget Model for Our Institution?

    34 min
See All (71)

Trailer

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Welcome to Get Down to College Business. We will identify strategies that could make the difference between keeping university doors open and closing them for good. I'm pulling in business experts and higher ed leaders to debate the merits of strategies that could save the future of higher ed. You will leave feeling empowered with new ideas to reimagine how you approach the business of college to support the cause of the affordable college experience. Visit us at highlevelleadership.com, read our blog and join our email list to get connected. Follow us and leave a positive review on your favorite podcast app. I'm your host, Sarah Holtan, PhD. Let's Get Down to College Business.

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Holtan, PhD
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Sarah Holtan, PhD
  • Show Website
    Get Down to College Business

You Might Also Like