Joshua Wyner: 30-Second Q&A

Joshua Wyner is Executive Director of the College Excellence Program at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

What are you reading?
Just finished Little by Edward Carey, a historical novel set in pre-revolutionary France — a subject that I’d studied as a history major, but hadn’t thought about in 40 years.

What are you listening to?
I am a big fan of S-Town — a podcast full of odd characters, unexpected twists, and engaging conversations — and Charm City, the NYTimes Daily podcast series about Baltimore and the murder of Freddy Gray.

What’s your favorite newsletter?
I am a huge fan of FiveThirtyEight — it feeds three of my passions: politics, sports, and data.

Pros and cons of working from home?
I’ve learned a lot about the possibilities of remote work — giving talks, doing research, and professional development have all been better than I’d imagined. But I miss sharing meals with colleagues and all the impromptu hallway conversations. Working from home has also increased my intake of dark chocolate Oreos, which I discovered in April.

What makes you optimistic?
The next generation of community college leaders. As many boomer presidents retire, Aspen has been identifying exceptional leaders and providing them year-long fellowships to transform community colleges to achieve more equitable levels of student success. I’m truly inspired when I see what they’re doing to close equity gaps that have held back Black, brown and low-income students for far too long.

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