Before You Hire an AI Consultant, Do This

About this episode

Mallory Willsea discusses building an enterprise AI strategy in higher education with Ed Cabellon.

On this episode of Higher Ed Pulse, host Mallory Willsea sits down with Ed Cabellon, Interim Vice President for Student Experience at Frederick Community College, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about what it actually takes to build an enterprise AI strategy in higher education. Rather than rushing into flashy AI pilots or chasing trends, Ed shares how FCC spent months laying the groundwork for a sustainable, institution-wide AI roadmap rooted in governance, collaboration, and operational readiness. Together, Mallory and Ed unpack the realities of leading AI transformation on campus, including how to align cabinet leadership, faculty innovation, IT infrastructure, and institutional priorities before bringing in outside consultants.

People in this episode

Host: Mallory Willsea

Guest: Ed Cabellon

Topics covered

• AI strategy
• higher education
• consultants
• governance
• collaboration
• operational readiness

Keywords

• AI
• higher education
• consultant
• strategy
• governance
• transformation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Frederick Community College

More episodes of Higher Ed Pulse

• Pulse Check: Your Guide to Engage Summit 2026 · June 11, 2026 · 16 min
• The SUNY AI Mandate · June 8, 2026 · 29 min
• Google Search is AI Search: What May's I/O Announcement Means for Higher Ed · June 1, 2026 · 26 min
• Pulse Check: Tales from a Community College AI Think Tank — Part 3 · May 28, 2026 · 33 min
• Pulse Check: Tales from a Community College AI Think Tank — Part 2 · May 21, 2026 · 32 min
• The 13 Milliseconds That Decide Your Enrollment Funnel · May 18, 2026 · 25 min