AI Governance, Skills, and the Future of Learning

JC's June 2026 "State of AI" recap argues higher ed AI has moved from chatbots to agentic operating layers amid contested model leadership (OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, DeepSeek, Z.AI) that makes single-vendor strategies outdated, closing with a live discussion among JC, Brian Piper (AI for U), and Carrie Phillips (Lessons in Leadership).

In this episode of Mission Admissions, host Jeremy Tiers has a conversation with Lauran Hundshamer, VP of Admissions and Marketing at St. Kate’s. Lauran shares how her team leverages personalization to boost the campus visit experience, engagement, and enrollment.

Jack Corby of Stevens Strategy joins the show to discuss why so many enrollment teams are stuck in outdated structures, and what leaders can do to identify gaps, rethink their org design, and build teams ready for modern enrollment demands.

The higher education sector is facing a quiet talent crisis: a staggering 74% of higher ed marketers are actively considering an exit from the industry. Mallory sits down with Shane Baglini, Executive Director of Marketing and Branding at William & Mary, to uncover the systemic issues fueling this exhaustion and explore how institutions can reverse the trend. Drawing from his own journey climbing from a small four-person team at Muhlenberg College to overseeing 22 creatives at a historic flagship university, Shane breaks down the unique hurdles of stepping into a high-visibility executive marketing role. They dive headfirst into a problematic culture where leadership often misinterprets professional development and personal LinkedIn branding as a “flight risk” rather than a powerful, organic extension of the university's reach.

In this episode, Shuchita Poddar discusses her experience managing three distinct student content teams at the University of Iowa and reveals how her team successfully leverages authentic, student-driven content to engage prospective students.