Top Hat’s podcast takes a lively look at the trends and people shaping the future of higher education. Guests include thought leaders from across the industry, authors, and, who knows, maybe even one of your peers. Listen on your favorite podcast platform.
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Meet the hosts
Eric Gardiner
Eric is the Director of Thought Leadership and Educational Programming at Top Hat, a job he feels lucky to have. When he’s not podcasting, he can be found organizing conferences, conducting research, and writing on the latest trends in teaching and learning.
Dr. Bradley Cohen
At Top Hat, Bradley provides leadership and advocacy within the higher education community as well as for our product innovation, digital publishing, and institutional engagement strategy. Prior to joining Top Hat, he led improvements in student outcomes and executed ambitious growth strategies as the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Ohio University.
Featured guests
José Antonio Bowen
José Antonio Bowen has spent more than 40 years leading change and innovation at Stanford, Georgetown, and the University of Southampton. The author of several books, including Teaching Naked, and co-author of Teaching with AI, Bowen consults with both higher education and Fortune 500 companies on innovation, leadership, pedagogy, and diversity and inclusion.
Jesse Stommel
A faculty member in the Writing Program at the University of Denver, Stommel is also co-founder of Hybrid Pedagogy, the journal of critical digital pedagogy, and Digital Pedagogy Lab. He has a PhD from University of Colorado Boulder. He is author of Undoing the Grade: Why We Grade, and How to Stop and co-author of An Urgency of Teachers: the Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy.
Donna Battista
Donna Battista has spent more than 20 years in higher education publishing, leading content and product development as a senior executive at Pearson and Top Hat. She’s worked with numerous authors, bringing print and cutting edge digital learning materials to thousands of instructors and students across North America.
Dr. Terrell Strayhorn
A leading authority in the fields of education, psychology, and leadership, Dr. Strayhorn is internationally-known for his ground-breaking scholarship on sense of belonging. He has authored over 12 books, more than 200 academic publications and is a contributing writer for Entrepreneur, AllBusiness, Thrive Global, and leads the “Belonging Matters” blog for Psychology Today. Dr. Strayhorn currently serves as Professor of Education and Psychology at Virginia Union University.
Kevin Yee
Kevin has worked in educational development since 2004, serving as director of various teaching centers since 2012. He joined UCF’s Faculty Center in 2022. He has also previously held 9-month faculty positions at Duke University, Pomona College, and the University of Iowa. In the classroom, Kevin believes the science of learning provides a crucial foundation for instructors, influencing everything from course design and assessment structure, to classroom management and lesson planning.
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