Episode #18 | A Conversation with Debra Iles, Harvard Kennedy School

06/30/21 • 18 min

Harvard Kennedy School Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education Debra Iles believes that the pandemic has “created the opportunity for us to think differently, to embrace some things that we were perhaps postponing.” Debra and I met virtually for episode 18 of MindMaxing, the final episode in the podcast’s first season, where she reflected on the unique perspective she and her colleagues had throughout the pandemic. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above.

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Episode #17 | A Conversation with Nancy Coleman, Ed.D., Harvard Extension School

Harvard University Dean of Division of Continuing Education and University Extension Nancy Coleman, Ed.D., believes creating space for reflection is important, especially in higher education. “If we're truly going to figure out ‘how do we create value for our students?’ ... there needs to be some thinking in that. And I found one of the best ways to do that is through connection with my peers, whether it be through UPCEA, or other associations, or other meetings,” Nancy said during our conversation for episode 17 of MindMaxing, our second to last episode of our first season. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above via YouTube.

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Episode #19 | A Conversation with Andy Chan, Wake Forest University

Andy Chan, VP of Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University, knows that being a student in 2022 is a uniquely complicated experience. There are more educational and professional options than ever before. There's also immense societal and cultural pressure to pick the perfect path and flawlessly transition from high school to college to a career.

In episode 19 of MindMaxing—the first in the podcast’s second season—Andy urges students to consider education not as a means to an end but as a way to foster the desire to learn and grow over one's lifetime. He says the advice educators, mentors, and parents should give students "is not 'follow your passions'—it's 'follow your interests to discover your passions.'"

MindMaxing: Conversations on Higher Ed - Episode #18 | A Conversation with Debra Iles, Harvard Kennedy School

Transcript

Lee Maxey:

Welcome. My name is Lee Maxey, I'm the CEO here at MindMax, and we do a series of podcasts we call MindMaxing. And this series is called Reflections and Repositioning. If you're wondering how higher education is dealing with the global pandemic and their positioning for the future, this podcast is for you. We'll be speaking with some very interesting and smart people who are deans and directors at some of the leading institutions in the United States, hearing about their refle