What economic trends today will set the stage for the future? How will legislative actions impact student financial aid? What accounting policy or reporting changes are on the horizon? Navigating the business of higher education institutions requires knowledge about a variety of issues—from finance to campus security.
In this podcast series, hear colleagues, experts, and industry leaders explore issues, provide best practices, offer solutions to new questions that may not have been asked before, and think through how recent developments will shape their institutions in the months and years ahead.
Before the Storm: Preparing Campuses for the Unexpected
How can colleges and universities build greater resilience before extreme weather strikes? Juan Azcarate, senior managing director at Dallas College, and Beth Kidwell, risk management consultant at United Educators, join NACUBO's Liz Clark to discuss how institutions can move from reacting to weather-related risks to proactively preparing for them. They explore how cross-campus collaboration, business continuity planning, and investing in prevention and training can help institutions prepare for unexpected disruptions and maintain operations when a crisis hits. While business officers play a critical role in building resilience, the conversation highlights that it takes a campus-wide effort to protect people, operations, and resources.
Additional Resources
Connect with Liz on LinkedIn
Learn about University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) (https://www.urmia.org/home)
Check out (https://www.urmia.org/home)URMIA's Annual Conference, Oct 10-14
21 Sept 2026
Aligning Strategic Finance and Student Success
Why are some higher education institutions struggling to improve persistence and completion despite widespread investment in student success efforts? Kristin Brooks, strategy director at Complete College America, and NACUBO's Kelli Rainey, senior director for student success initiatives, join Bryan Dickson to explore how strategic finance is an often overlooked yet important part of the student success equation. They discuss cross-campus collaboration that brings business officers to the table as strategic partners to connect budgets and strategic priorities to student outcomes. The conversation also highlights how NACUBO's Student Success Hub and Complete College America are working together to help campuses turn these connections into action—and build approaches they can sustain and strengthen over time.
Additional Resources
Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn
Connect with Kelli on LinkedIn
Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn
Check out NACUBO's Student Success Hub
Learn about Complete College America's Accelerator initiative
Check out NACUBO's other podcasts!
Career Conversations (https://learn.nacubo.org/career-conversations)
CBO Speaks
7 Sept 2026
Partners in Progress: Academic and Business Leadership
How do strong partnerships between campus chief academic and business officers result in better decisions? Southern Connecticut State University's Julia Irwin, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Lillian Wanjagi, vice president for finance and administration and CFO, join NACUBO's Bryan Dickson to explore the increasingly important relationship between provosts and CBOs. They discuss building trust and transparency, bringing complementary perspectives, and focusing on shared institutional goals when navigating complex decisions. From balancing academic priorities and financial realities to managing change, the conversation highlights how collaboration can strengthen institutions and ultimately better support students. Tune in for the first episode of the season!
Additional Resources
Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn
Connect with Julia on LinkedIn
Connect with Lillian on LinkedIn
Read more about partnerships between campus academic and business officers:
How strong is the relationship between your CFO and provost?
Essential Partners: Chief Academic Officers and Chief Financial Officers
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
46,878
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.4 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 61 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
61
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
77
Contact NACUBO In Brief
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
