Higher Education Leadership Conference confronts field’s future

January 24, 2025
Paul LeBlanc

2025 Zemsky Medal Winner Paul LeBlanc speaks at the Higher Education Leadership Conference at Penn GSE. (DeBalko Photography for Penn GSE)

Penn GSE welcomed alumni from the Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management program back to campus for the 20th annual Higher Education Leadership Conference. Dean Katharine Strunk delivered opening remarks for the event, which took place Jan. 16–18 at the Inn at Penn.

This year’s theme, “The Leadership Moment,” addressed significant challenges in the field, from the enrollment cliff to school mergers and acquisitions and speech freedom. More than 90 alumni attended.

Conference Chair Rob Farrell (Ed.D. ’19) said the event provided opportunities for practitioner–scholars to grapple with industry challenges and exchange ideas that they could then bring back to their campuses and organizations.

“This is a moment for us as leaders to step up and say, ‘These are major changes in higher education; we need to recognize it and do something about it,’” said Farrell, general counsel and university secretary at the University of Scranton.

The agenda included keynote addresses from two industry leaders, master classes with leading scholars, and in-depth panel discussions on timely topics, including soaring educational costs, a lack of public confidence in higher education, governance models, and the high number of leadership vacancies at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Attendees from the Higher Education Management program represented all its cohorts, from 1 to 22. (Farrell is part of cohort 17, which he noted boasted the highest number of participants this year.)

Dean Strunk introduced the opening keynote speaker, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, an expert on speech freedom on campus.

Campus speech freedom is a persistent issue in higher education, and Farrell said Chereminsky brought insight and experience. “This issue has not gone away and will not go away,” Farrell said.

On Day Two, Sara Custer, the new editor-in-chief for Inside Higher Education, shared observations on the higher education landscape and forecasted potential industry changes.

Penn GSE faculty Peter Eckel, Julie Wollman, and Larry Moneta each led a master class with an interactive format to foster engagement. Eckel hosted a master class at last year’s conference, which Farrell said was the highest-rated event, inspiring additional courses for this year.

“These are light on presentation and heavy on conversation,” he said. “It’s like being back in the classroom where practitioners are challenging each other and bringing different perspectives.”

The social components of the conference reunited cohorts and encouraged alums to network and engage with peers. Highlights included the 2025 Zemsky Medal Gala & Awards Dinner, an affinity group lunch, and an alumni reception.

This year's Zemsky Medal winner is Paul J. LeBlanc, former president of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). LeBlanc was selected for his exceptional leadership during two decades at SNHU and his current role as board chair of Human Services, an artificial intelligence and education company he co-founded with researcher George Siemens. After stepping down as president in June 2024, LeBlanc continues to serve the university as a researcher, writer, and advisor.

During his tenure, SNHU grew from 2,800 students to more than 250,000, becoming the largest nonprofit online higher education institution in the country. Recognized as an innovative leader, LeBlanc was named one of Forbes’ 15 “Classroom Revolutionaries.” In 2018, he received the IAA Institute's Hesburgh Award for leadership excellence in higher education, alongside numerous other awards for civil service and educational leadership.

Farrell said he hoped the event would rekindle alumni’s memories of their executive doctoral classroom experience. “We get together and wrestle with problems, which makes it both challenging and wonderful,” he said.