Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig—Advancing Innovation and Access to Higher Education at WMU

Our guest, Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Western Michigan University (WMU). He is an internationally known scholar and a nationally recognized advocate for educational effectiveness and equity. Provost Vasquez Heilig explains the “Western Way” of WMU as undergirded by innovation. Innovation has been proven necessary to meet the strategic goals so that “all may learn.” Outcomes include improved retention and closing equity gaps such as graduation rates. As an institution focused on access, he shares efforts on the recruitment of historically underrepresented student populations, including Native American communities, as an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Responding to the 2024 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers finding that there has been an increase in faculty and staff turnover, Dr. Vasquez Heilig expresses WMU’s commitment to hire and retain faculty with a history of supporting students from historically marginalized communities. The Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP The Sponsor: Xcelerated Excellence Consulting EDUP Xcelerated Excellence Community Contributors: Dr. Kimberly White-Smith, Dean School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego Resources: Inside Higher Ed. 2024 Annual Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers The EDUP Experience Opportunities: The 2.0 Conference. Discounted registration for the 2025 conference in Las Vegas, NV. Opportunities for Education, Healthcare, Internet, Marketing, and CXO professionals. Code: EDUP10OFF NCORE. The National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education.