The Scoop Podcast Hosts ACE President and CEO Geordie Hyland for Leadership Episode

American College of Education® (ACE) President and CEO, Geordie Hyland, recently made his second appearance on an EdUp Podcast, this time on The Scoop, a podcast within EdUp. In the episode, Changing the Game of Leadership, Hyland shared wisdom from two decades of leadership experience, expressing that a shared mission, clear goals and continued growth lead to personal and organizational success.

Kathy Belletty led the conversation asking Geordie about his journey into higher education. Hyland shared that his mother was an educator who influenced his career in education. After having played professional hockey, Hyland found a passion for helping adult learners leading him to higher education, and ultimately, to ACE.

As the episode unfolded, Hyland explained the important work ACE is doing in providing accessible and affordable continued education options. This led to Belletty asking how ACE keeps tuition so affordable. Hyland explained that ACE’s goal is to not contribute to the $4 billion student loan debt crisis, but to serve as a solution. Because of this goal, ACE has chosen to forgo partaking in Title IV funding, which allows 85%* of ACE students to graduate with little or no debt.

Belletty wanted to learn more about Hyland’s leadership experience, and he said “I think it’s important that people understand the difference between managing people and leading them. It’s helpful if you’re passionate about the mission. Setting a vision, strategy and goals is a clear path to success. Also, making sure that people are having fun too.”

Further, Hyland shared that in leadership, things don’t always go as planned. “I think about the early stages in my career, the thought that things need to be to be perfect and mistakes were always negative. People make mistakes, mistakes are expected, and we can learn from them. I’ve tried to learn from all my experiences along the way, both positive and negative. It has made me more open-minded and flexible.”

It’s that mindset that has inspired Hyland to be a life-long learner, and he believes in the importance of continued education and ACE’s mission to provide adults with the opportunity to grow in their careers and education.

Hyland said in closing the episode, “I would really encourage prospective students to think about what the best option is for them and do their research. Obviously, I’m biased. I’m a big believer in what ACE offers, but there are lots of options out there and online can really be a high-quality experience that can be life-changing.”

ACE offers programs that inspire and equip working professionals to step into leadership. The college believes education is for everyone and interested individuals can learn more about their leadership programs here.

Listen to the episode here.

*Source: Internal Research Completed in June 2023