One day, two years ago, I went onto LinkedIn and posted:
Anyone want to talk about higher education? I will be on ZOOM at this day and time. Here is the link:
That was the entirety of the post. It was purposefully vague. I had built academic degree
programs. More recently, I was a dean of students. I experienced a college closure and launched
a podcast that share stories of those impacted by their closure experience. Yet, I did not include
any of that in the post.
My goal: Simply to have interesting conversations and expand my network of higher education
professionals.
So, I logged on at the time that I promised. Two gentlemen joined. My network was indeed
expanding.
I decided to do this monthly. At first, simply posting the same link and waiting to see who would
join. Soon, the attendee count grew and the conversation was becoming significant. Thus….
THE CLUB was born. The concept is that a group of higher education professionals virtually
gather in a safe space to analyze the current trends and issues that are impacting Tomorrow’s
Higher Education (THE). It presents a high-level dialogue with a laid-back feel (we have get-
togethers, not meetings), akin to a campus club.
In August 2025, I began inviting guests to lead the discussion on a topic of their expertise. Here,
too, I wasn’t sure of the success. Will I be able to secure guests every month? Will my guests be
recognizable names? Will the information they bring to THE CLUB resonate with my newly-
found audience?
I have been fortunate to recruit some of the leading industry voices to join as guest facilitators. I
am granting access to some of the most influential and insightful higher education professionals.
Here is a full list of guests who have join THE CLUB. Topics have included, but limited to: The
demographic cliff, changes in accreditation, EdTech, student affairs, athletics, leadership, non-
traditional colleges, legal issues in education, curricular issues, radical cooperation in higher ed,
financial resiliency, the role of Board of Trustees, and relevance in higher education. THE
CLUB is a place for connection and camaraderie, where analysis can turn into ideas, and ideas
into vision, and vision into collaboration.
I am pleased to announce that my guest in THE CLUB on Friday, November 13 will be another
leading industry voice, Vice President for ACAO Board of Directors, Dr. Patricia Salkin. Dr.
Salkin is the Senior VP for Academic Affairs and Provost for Touro University. With expertise in
legal issues, and previous experience as Dean of Touro’s Law Center and professor of law, Dr.
Salkin will share her insights on current major legal concerns in higher education. She will also
share her thoughts on Touro University as a system in today’s higher education landscape.
Here is the link for November’s get-together in THE CLUB with Dr. Salkin: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81871664847
Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss THE CLUB in further detail or just want to
chat about higher education.
Dr. Jay M. Keehn
[email protected]
Jay M. Keehn | LinkedIn