Leamor Kahanov, Ed.D., selected to co-host spinoff of popular EdUp Experience podcast
As the value of higher education continues to come under scrutiny, accreditation is increasingly becoming one of the critical topics in higher education. During accreditation, an external body reviews the processes and outcomes of an institution or program to ensure students are receiving the education the college or university indicates is provided.
With Alvernia University in the middle of its latest review, the 2025 Middle States Self-Study, one of its leaders joined the podcasting world to share her expertise with a national audience.
Leamor Kahanov, Ed.D., ATC/L, provost and senior vice president, recently co-hosted an episode of Accreditation Insights, an offshoot of the higher-education-focused EdUp Experience Podcast. "Courageous Innovation with Accreditor Support" premiered March 10.
Kahanov made her podcasting debut with longtime acquaintance Dr. Laurie Shanderson, owner of Accreditation Insights and the former chancellor of Methodist College.
"I had not contributed to a podcast before," Kahanov said. "Dr. Shanderson and I have been colleagues for about 10 years. We met at ACAD (the American Conference of Academic Deans) and have become supportive colleagues and soundboards for each other. The podcast is her creation and she asked that I occasionally participate as a co-host."
Accreditation Insights debuted in December. Kahanov expects to share hosting duties on about 10 additional episodes with Shanderson, who will lead the Women in Leadership Panel on April 10 as part of the university's week of activities planned to mark the inauguration of Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D., on April 12.
"We are continually adding more podcast dates and potentially will have some individuals back," she said. "We are trying to keep these to 30 minutes. Some of the interviews can certainly be longer given the expertise or topic of the podcast, but we know that professionals are busy and a longer podcast is often difficult to finish."
Kahanov, who has over 25 years of higher-education experience as a provost, dean and professor, is one of four women holding top positions at Alvernia. But despite her pedigree, she says she learns something new every time she listens and co-hosts Accreditation Insights.
"The individuals on the show are experts, innovators and extremely knowledgeable about higher education," she said. "I walk away from each episode processing a range of thoughts from how I practice my role in higher education to the public good of higher education in the United States."
Alvernia began its most recent multi-year self-study in the fall of 2022. Groups of faculty and staff collected evidence and data to evaluate the university's processes and outcomes. Co-chairs Scott Pavone and Christina Steffy then transformed the data into prose for its self-study report, sharing finished chapters with the campus community to review.
"Over the summer we will edit the self-study document for submission in the fall, and an on-site accreditation visit is scheduled for fall 2025," Kahanov said. "I commend Scott and Christina for their leadership. This has been a smooth process that has highlighted some gaps that we are currently addressing and some exceptional practices that we can highlight for our students."
