This Fall Season of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proudly sponsored by NextGrad.
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New leaders often feel pressure to make their mark quickly, but listening can be the most strategic first move. Dr. Aly Williams, President of Midland University, shares how 25 years at Indiana Wesleyan University and a decade in athletic training prepared her to enter a new community with curiosity. She explains how listening becomes strategy, how vocation shapes institutional distinctiveness, and why strong campus and community relationships require intentional time.
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What We Cover in This Episode
🔘 What athletic training taught Aly about pressure, decisions, and creativity
🔘 How an institution can intentionally develop future leaders
🔘 Why a new president chose listening before major change
🔘 How personal stories help leaders uncover institutional strengths
🔘 Why mission, vocation, and community sharpen a college’s distinctiveness
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Episode Highlights
02:29 - Lessons from making decisions on the athletic sidelines
05:21 - How Indiana Wesleyan intentionally developed leaders
08:54 - Learning a campus through several different roles
11:22 - Recognizing the call to leave a familiar institution
13:12 - Why Aly devoted her first year to listening
20:21 - Two practical rules for a productive listening tour
23:09 - Connecting Midland’s success to the Fremont community
25:46 - Turning mission and vocation into meaningful distinction
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NextGrad helps colleges and universities reach students where they already are, inside the high school itself. With a network of over 2,500 schools across North America, NextGrad puts your institution's message in front of future students every single day. Be the school they remember when it's time to decide.
Nextgrad.com, Where students see you first.
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