Mike Palmer, host of Trending in Education, speaks with President Nick Ladany at EdTech Week
In this Trending in Education conversation recorded at EdTech Week 2026 with host Mike Palmer, SFBU President Nick Ladany argues that higher education’s problems are choices institutions keep making. A first-generation college student and counseling psychologist who spent nearly 20 years as a professor and administrator before becoming a president, Ladany took the SFBU job in 2023 with a charge to build a university from scratch.
Under Ladany’s leadership, SFBU has capped classes at 20 students, trained faculty in pedagogy and teaching year-round, and implemented a new general education curriculum built on industry-validated skills.
Ladany also discusses SFBU’s newly-launched MBA Pro+, in which AI is used as a partner rather than a shortcut, providing human faculty with the opportunity to focus on mentoring and career guidance. MBA Pro+ features Bayley the Bayhawk, SFBU’s AI tutor.
Bayley is our AI tutor that in essence had our pedagogical model built into their responsiveness. Bayley will lead them to what we call intelligent failure and a level of frustration that allows them to learn, which is really what learning is about,” said Ladany. “Students have access 24/7, and they don’t have to wait to go to an office hour.
