WACUBO 2026: Transformational Leadership in Higher Education
Last week was my first WACUBO Annual Conference, but I felt right at home. The annual gathering of business officers from colleges and universities across the western US exemplified one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about higher ed conferences: how much of the value sits outside the program. Our community shows up willing […]
Ellucian Live 2026 in Denver: A Conference About Consolidation, Pressure, and Position
Ellucian Live 2026 in Denver signaled a company working to reinforce its position in a market that remains unsettled. What Did Ellucian Announce at Ellucian Live 2026? The messaging focused on modernization, AI, and platform simplification. Those themes are familiar, but the context has shifted. Institutions are making decisions under tighter budgets, constrained staffing, and […]
Workday Innovation Summit 2026 and Workday 4.0
Workday’s Innovation Summit this spring brought industry analysts and customer advisors together for two days focused on a single topic: what enterprise-grade agentic AI actually looks like, and what it will take to deliver it responsibly. One analyst called it “the most innovative Workday Innovation Summit yet.” The pace of product news, the directness of […]
Kuali Days 2026: A Company the Market Should Reconsider
Kuali Days 2026 was not just a user conference. It was a signal that Kuali, Inc. is entering a new phase. The leadership transition was central to the event. Rishi Rana introduced himself as Kuali’s new CEO with a message focused on execution, continuity, and customer value. The tone was measured and practical. There was […]
Vendors: Prioritize Enterprise Planning
A few weeks ago, I argued that higher education’s expectations of technology vendors are too low. Most institutions, and most vendors serving them, are still having the wrong conversation. They stay focused on transactions and user experience: better HR workflows, cleaner financial reporting, faster close, fewer manual touches. But that is not enough to separate […]
The Exact Moment AI Projects Die (And Why It’s Not Technical)
It’s not during the build. It’s not during the pilot. It’s not even during the demo, which usually goes well. It’s in the week after the demo. When the email goes out asking for a timeline on next steps. And the organization discovers it has no good answer. The Pattern Most AI pilots succeed on […]
Higher Education’s Credibility Runs Through Outcomes
At the ASU+GSV Summit, a collaboration between Global Silicon Valley (GSV) Ventures and Arizona State University (ASU), there was no shortage of ideas. The Gap between Institutional Reality and Student Expectations Higher education needs spaces where people can test assumptions, share new approaches, and challenge old models. What stayed with me, though, was not just […]
What Are Your Three Wishes?
Agentic AI is getting smarter. The question is whether higher education knows what to ask of it. Every new wave of technology seems to arrive with the same basic promise: better tools, better information, better decisions. But if the last couple of decades have taught us anything, it is that information usually is not the […]
Where Oracle Is Taking Higher Education: Key Themes from Knoxville
Reflections from the Oracle Higher Education Summit in Knoxville This week I attended the Oracle Higher Education Summit at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The event brought together institutional leaders and technologists to explore where the market is heading, with a strong focus on AI, platforms, and the future of enterprise systems in higher education. […]
AiPEX Center Launch: Higher Education Just Leapfrogged Into 2026
Drivestream just opened a new hands-on center designed to showcase what AI can actually look like in practice. Last week, Hampton Shive and I had the opportunity to spend time at the launch of Drivestream’s AiPEX Center in Leesburg, Virginia. Why This Felt Different I’ve been to a lot of conferences, seen countless demos, and […]
