
5. Turning Higher Ed Ideas Into Action: A Conversation with Stephen Whitehead
In this episode of EdUp Provost, host Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner sits down with Stephen Whitehead of Commonwealth University and 5th Hammer Innovation to discuss why great ideas in higher education so often stall before they become real change. Drawing on his consulting work, his military background, and his experience coaching academic leaders, Dr. Whitehead unpacks why execution—not creativity—is the real bottleneck in the provost's office, and offers practical frameworks for building ownership, trust, and momentum around change.
Takeaways:
Ideas rarely die from a "no" — they die in the…
The skinny
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