How to Buy AI in 2026

Jenny Li Fowler welcomes Jessica VanderKolk, a Public Communications Specialist at East Carolina University. The conversation centers on ECU’s innovative communications department structure, which utilizes a liaison model. Rather than being siloed in a central office, communicators are embedded directly within the colleges they cover.

When Massachusetts rolled out free community college, it drove massive equity across the state, but it also created an unprecedented bottleneck at the front door of smaller institutions. Brian sits down with Alex Russo, Director of Enrollment & Recruitment Strategy at Cape Cod Community College, to discuss how a school with limited headcount operationalized 24/7 student support AI to manage a sudden 40% spike in student volume.

Jaime welcomes Megan W. Gerhardt, a professor of management and leadership at Miami University. The conversation centers on challenging the stereotypes that often define our understanding of different generations in the workplace.

This week, Dustin chats with Dr. Dave Duke, Chief Product Officer at McGraw Hill, about how AI is reshaping teaching, learning, and academic integrity in higher education. He highlights some new product developments for their learning tools as well as the recently released Sharpen Advantage. Drawing on his background in psychology and product design, Dave explores how students make rational decisions about AI use, why traditional views of academic integrity are becoming more nuanced, and how institutions can better support students in developing meaningful AI proficiency for the workforce.

Everspring's Andrea Gilbert and Mike Bell explain why smaller schools with specific, substantiated content are outciting big-brand universities in AI search—and what that means for enrollment and budgets.