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Podcast dedicated to building the AV/IT tech manager community in higher education through discussions on classroom technology and audiovisual support.
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29 SEP 2026 · Higher Ed AV Podcast
Episode 368
Being the Resource with Chris Harshfield
What does good classroom support look like when your team is responsible for hundreds of spaces, faculty need help before class starts, and every department has its own priorities? In this episode, Joe Way talks with Chris Harshfield, classroom technology support manager at The Ohio State University, about the work that makes a classroom feel simple to the person teaching in it.
Chris began at Ohio State as a student technician and has spent more than fifteen years helping its classroom support program grow. He walks through a typical morning: reviewing overnight tickets, following up on issues found during room checks, arranging technician visits, and meeting instructors who need a quick technology overview before class. His team checks every classroom it supports each week, with evening technicians working through a queue of follow-ups they call “additional duties.” The queue may refill the next day, but catching a troublesome input or wireless display issue before it interrupts a class is the point.
Joe and Chris also dig into the relationship between central AV teams and academic departments. At Ohio State, departments can work with the central team on classroom systems and choose tier-one support. The resulting rooms use familiar controls and operate much like centrally managed classrooms. For faculty moving between buildings, that consistency matters more than knowing which group owns the equipment. Chris explains how the team makes space for specific requests while keeping systems supportable long after installation.
The conversation then turns to InfoComm América Latina, where Chris will join HETMA in Mexico City. He and Joe discuss what it means to enter a new community with useful experience and a willingness to listen. Chris wants to ask local higher ed AV professionals what is working, where they are struggling, and what kind of support or connection would be valuable. For both of them, success means meeting people who want to keep building that community together after the event.
Along the way, they compare how classroom technology and support have changed over fifteen years, from paper records and VHS tests to shared online maintenance tools, digital systems, and cameras and microphones in every classroom. The rapid round brings the conversation back to Columbus, campus traditions, favorite food and travel stops, and Chris’s latest hobby: 3D printing a full set of Mandalorian armor.In this episode:
- What a day of classroom support looks like at Ohio State
- Why weekly room checks and technician follow-ups matter
- How central teams can serve departments while giving faculty a familiar experience
- Where to draw the line between standard systems and special requests
- Why the cost of a unique installation includes years of support
- How Chris’s support model has changed over fifteen years
- What Joe and Chris hope to learn at InfoComm América Latina
Connect with Chris Harshfield:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-harshfield-6aba67225/
Email: mailto:harshfield.6@osu.edu
Learn more about InfoComm América Latina:
Web: https://www.infocomm-americalatina.org/en
22 SEP 2026 · After a run of roadshows, live recordings, InfoComm episodes, and special series, the Higher Ed AV Podcast gets back to its roots with a great one-on-one conversation. Joe is joined by Calvin Thorbourne III, AV Specialist at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, for a conversation that moves naturally between higher education AV, live production, house of worship, career transitions, and the relationships that hold all of it together. Calvin shares his journey from the music industry and Universal Music Group into church production and eventually higher education, showing how staying open to opportunities can lead somewhere you never expected.
Calvin and Joe dig into the unique intersection of classroom technology and live production. Supporting a classroom may mean helping a faculty member navigate a system moments before class begins, while supporting a chapel service means solving problems immediately because the event is already happening. Through both, Calvin has developed a philosophy centered on preparation, excellence, and service. The technology may be important, but the real job is helping the person standing on the other side of the problem. As Joe puts it during the conversation, sometimes you have not really solved the problem until you have solved the person.
The conversation also gets wonderfully technical as two former live-production guys compare old-school signal flow with modern networked AV. XLR snakes, digital consoles, Crestron, Q-SYS, control systems, cloud platforms, and the sometimes uncomfortable transition from physically tracing a cable to following signals across a network all make an appearance. Calvin also talks about the impact HETMA and the Prism Scholarship have had on his professional development, giving him access to mentors, peers, education, and a community where asking questions is encouraged. That willingness to admit what you do not know, learn from people around you, and keep developing becomes another major theme of the episode.
Then Calvin delivers one of the most memorable rapid-round monologues yet. His message is simple: give people grace, and give yourself some too. We rarely know everything happening in someone else’s life, and assuming the worst only adds stress that does not need to exist. The same applies inwardly. Strive for excellence, prepare well, learn from mistakes, and keep moving forward, but recognize that perfection was never the standard. From AV troubleshooting to career changes to Atlanta restaurants, college traditions, golf, East Coast versus West Coast hip-hop, and even how to eat an elephant one bite at a time, this is exactly the kind of conversation that reminds us why the Higher Ed AV community is about far more than technology.
Connect with Calvin Thorbourne III:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvinthe3rd/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caltiii/
3 SEP 2026 · Live from the HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo
Part 4
Higher Ed AV Podcast
Live from the HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo Part 4 Higher Ed AV Podcast The HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo may have officially been a three-part series, but there was too much good content to leave behind. In this bonus Part Four of the Higher Ed AV Podcast, Joe Way heads off campus and into the Roadshow happy hour for one final round of conversations from Buffalo.
Recorded from a local Buffalo brewery, the episode captures the more relaxed side of the HETMA Roadshow experience, where the formal education sessions, campus tours, and vendor showcase give way to wings, drinks, and the conversations that happen when the higher ed AV community simply gets a chance to spend time together. It is another reminder that some of the most valuable moments at industry events happen after the scheduled programming ends.
Throughout the Buffalo series, manufacturers, integrators, technology managers, institutional leaders, and HETMA members have shared ideas about everything from learning spaces and support models to collaboration, standardization, accessibility, and the evolving role of AV on campus. Part Four brings that experience full circle by focusing on the relationships behind all of it.
Consider this the unofficial after-hours conclusion to the HETMA Roadshow Buffalo series: more people, more conversations, some authentic Buffalo wings, and one last opportunity to experience the community that makes these Roadshows special.
3 SEP 2026 · Live from the HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo
Part 3
Higher Ed AV Podcast
The HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo wraps up with Part Three of this special Higher Ed AV Podcast series, bringing together even more voices from across the higher education technology community. As the day moves through lunch, the vendor showcase, education sessions, an esports tour, and toward the closing happy hour, Joe Way continues capturing candid conversations with HETMA leaders, longtime members, industry partners, integrators, and higher ed professionals. The result is a final look at what makes the Roadshow experience so valuable: a day built around learning, relationships, shared challenges, and the opportunity to experience another campus firsthand.
HETMA Chair Erin Maher-Moran opens the episode by reflecting on the Roadshow format and why events designed by end users feel different from traditional industry gatherings. The conversation expands beyond AV alone, touching on facilities, IT, registrars, learning management systems, instructional design, and the many other groups now involved in creating the modern student experience. Former University at Buffalo leader and FLEXspace co-founder Lisa Stephens continues that theme, describing the importance of community, collaboration, faculty engagement, and serving as a connector between pedagogy and technology. She also provides an update on the future of FLEXspace and the opportunity to return the platform to its original purpose of helping institutions learn from one another and make better-informed investments.
The episode also features conversations with industry partners who reinforce the importance of listening to end users before designing solutions. WolfVision’s Marta Skopa discusses simplifying collaboration and presentation workflows so technology becomes nearly invisible to faculty and students, while Southtown Audio Video’s Heather Sidorowicz explains why successful integration begins with understanding the institution rather than simply selecting a product. Former higher ed AV leader Steve Borho offers the perspective of someone who has moved from the university side into integration, sharing how events like the Roadshow help industry professionals stay connected to the real challenges institutions are facing and bring better-informed solutions back to their customers.
Throughout Part Three, one theme continues to surface: higher ed AV works best as an ecosystem of collaboration. Andrew Vogel discusses the importance of building relationships across departments, understanding capacity, and learning from institutions that may solve similar problems in completely different ways. From classroom design and faculty workflows to leadership, FLEXspace, regional partnerships, and even the shared experience of Buffalo wings after the show, the Roadshow demonstrates how much value comes from simply getting people into the same room. Part Three closes the Buffalo series with a reminder that the technology matters, but the relationships, trust, shared knowledge, and willingness to learn from one another are what ultimately move higher education forward.
3 SEP 2026 · Live from the HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo
Part 2
Higher Ed AV Podcast
The HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo continues in Part Two of this special Higher Ed AV Podcast series, with more conversations from the show floor about the technology, partnerships, and people shaping today’s higher education AV environment. As attendees move between vendor exhibits, education sessions, campus tours, and lunch, Joe Way sits down with manufacturers, HETMA partners, and the University at Buffalo team to hear what they are learning from the event and the challenges institutions are working to solve. The conversations reinforce what makes the Roadshow model different: direct access to peers and industry partners in an environment built around collaboration rather than simply selling products.
The episode begins with Waves, where Derek Smith discusses voice regeneration and the potential for advanced audio processing to improve lecture capture, podcasts, streaming, and other educational content. The conversation explores how better voice intelligibility can improve the student listening experience and why audio quality becomes even more important as institutions address accessibility and digital learning requirements. Biamp’s Carrie Linda Martin continues the discussion around campus-wide technology management, remote monitoring, firmware management, voice lift, training, and designing solutions around the actual needs of each learning space rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.
Other partners demonstrate how sometimes the biggest technology improvements come from solving seemingly simple operational problems. CableEasy discusses eliminating missing cables, reducing service calls, protecting connection points, and even creating more flexible spaces through dependable physical connectivity. Extron’s Bernie Farkas talks about the continued importance of support, training, standardization, AV-over-IP, and providing institutions with multiple technology paths depending on their infrastructure and organizational needs. ScreenBeam’s Nancy Blanchard adds another perspective around wireless presentation, security, remote management, and helping faculty move beyond the front of the classroom while giving support teams greater visibility into thousands of deployed devices.
At the center of Part Two is a conversation with University at Buffalo Principal Technology Architect John Pfeffer, who provides a deeper look at the collaborative philosophy behind the campus. John explains how UB has maintained classroom technology standards since 1993 and how its Renew initiative brings AV, facilities, planning, the registrar, and other stakeholders together so classroom improvements happen as part of one coordinated strategy. From standardized learning spaces and collaborative planning to the relationships being built throughout the Roadshow itself, Part Two demonstrates that successful higher ed technology is ultimately about more than individual products. It requires strong standards, trusted partnerships, shared knowledge, and a community willing to work together to create better experiences for faculty and students.This one has a slightly stronger technology-and-strategy angle than Part One, which fits the conversations really well.
3 SEP 2026 · Live from the HETMA Roadshow at the University at Buffalo
Part 1
Higher Ed AV Podcast
The HETMA Roadshow rolls into the University at Buffalo for a special live edition of the Higher Ed AV Podcast. In Part One of this three-part series, Joe Way captures the energy of the event as attendees, HETMA leaders, and industry partners come together for campus tours, education, technology demonstrations, and the kind of relationship-building that makes the Roadshow experience unique. With nearly 100 registrations and an impressive host campus, Buffalo provides the perfect setting to showcase what happens when the higher ed AV community comes together locally.
Joe first sits down with HETMA leaders Dustin and Eric to talk about everything that happens behind the scenes to make a Roadshow successful. From hotels, catering, shipping, parking, and programming to coordinating tours and vendor participation, these events require far more planning than attendees may ever realize. They also discuss HETMA's continued growth, the goal of expanding the Roadshow program across the United States and internationally, and the challenge of growing into a larger, more professional organization without losing the grassroots community spirit that has always made HETMA special.
Throughout the day, Joe also catches up with several of HETMA's manufacturer partners, including GUDE Systems, Epiphan Video, WyreStorm, Audio-Technica, and Huddly. The conversations cover smart power management, lecture capture, AV-over-IP, commercial audio, AI-powered cameras, multi-camera production, cloud management, and the growing importance of simple, reliable technology in the classroom. More importantly, the partners explain why regional events matter: they give manufacturers direct access to the people actually designing, supporting, and operating higher education systems while giving end users a chance to build meaningful relationships with the people behind the products.
The episode also highlights the broader purpose behind the HETMA Roadshows. Annie Foster shares how regional gatherings create valuable opportunities for professionals, particularly those from smaller or rural institutions, to find mentorship, exchange ideas, and build connections without the overwhelming scale of a major trade show. SUNY Online's Mads Katz adds another perspective, showing how AV, learning management systems, hybrid education, lecture capture, accessibility, and instructional design continue to converge. Part One from Buffalo ultimately shows that the Roadshow is about much more than technology. It is about bringing the higher ed AV community together, creating access to expertise, and building the relationships that make the entire industry stronger.I can also tighten this into a more podcast-platform-friendly version with a little more punch and less detail if you want.
4 AUG 2026 · Higher Ed AV Podcast
Episode 362
Practical AI for AV with Dan Litvin
AI may be the biggest buzzword in technology, but what does it actually mean for audiovisual professionals and the spaces they support? In this episode of the Higher Ed AV Podcast, Joe Way welcomes Dan Litvin, co-founder and president of PureTek Group and co-founder of unRAVL, for a practical conversation about moving AI beyond the hype and into real-world AV workflows.
Dan explains how AI-powered control can make technology feel more human by allowing systems to adapt to the people using them, not forcing users to adapt to rigid programming. They explore personalized room experiences, natural-language control, open APIs, proactive system monitoring, automated audio and camera operation, and the convergence of AV with lighting, HVAC, security, scheduling, and other campus platforms.
The conversation also challenges higher education AV professionals to think beyond individual rooms and traditional support models. By using AI to create smarter, more flexible spaces, AV teams can improve the user experience, reduce operating costs, support sustainability, generate revenue, and demonstrate measurable institutional value. The future of AV leadership will not simply be about managing technology, it will be about using technology to solve the larger problems facing the institution.
Also in this episode:
- Why “making technology more human” does not mean removing humans
- How AI can personalize one room for dozens of different users and use cases
- Using AI as a translation layer between traditionally disconnected systems
- The importance of open APIs and interoperable technology ecosystems
- Moving from reactive support calls to proactive system management
- AI-assisted audio leveling, camera tracking, and room control
- Turning campus AV spaces into revenue-generating assets
- Why AV professionals must become managers, strategists, and business leaders
- Dan’s journey from engineering and yoga instruction to human-centered technology
- Why AI should eliminate tedious work and give people more time for what matters
Connect with Dan Litvin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-litvin-27959247/
PureTek Group: https://puretekgroup.com
unRAVL AI: https://unravl.net
29 JUL 2026 · Higher Ed AV Podcast with Joe Way
Episode 361
The AV Life Crossover Episode with Nancy Blanchard
What happens when the scheduled host does not show up? Joe Way and Nancy Blanchard take over the show, turn it into an unexpected crossover episode, and have the kind of honest AV conversation that could never have been planned.
Nancy, Territory Sales Manager for ScreenBeam, joins Joe to discuss her long-standing connection to the higher education AV community and why supporting HETMA has remained important throughout her career. She explains why successful manufacturer relationships must be built around education, trust, and understanding the customer’s actual challenges—not simply pushing products or reading through a list of technical specifications.
The conversation explores why applications and installations matter more than feature dumps, how manufacturers should evaluate and act upon customer feedback, and why higher education institutions need direct access to product roadmaps, beta programs, and the people making development decisions. Nancy also shares how ScreenBeam approaches enterprise-grade wireless presentation, security, customer requests, digital signage, and the continued development of its platform.
Joe and Nancy then turn their attention to consultants, integrators, architects, and manufacturers. They examine where projects can go wrong, how competing priorities influence system designs, and why every participant in the process must remain focused on protecting the end user from the beginning of a project through its completion.
The episode closes with a spirited rapid round covering hardware versus software, classrooms versus conference rooms, Teams versus Zoom, wired versus wireless systems, standardization, ISE, artificial intelligence, video bars, professional responsiveness, and whether “good enough AV” can sometimes truly be good enough.
It is spontaneous, occasionally argumentative, deeply personal, and exactly what happens when two friends from the AV industry are handed microphones with no real plan.
Connect with Nancy Blanchard
Find Nancy on LinkedIn and X at @NancyBlanchard.
Email: mailto:nblanchard@screenbeam.com
Learn more about ScreenBeam and its enterprise wireless presentation, collaboration, and digital signage solutions at ScreenBeam.com.
23 JUL 2026 · After taking his now-usual post-InfoComm break, Joe Way returns to the Higher Ed AV Podcast with a major announcement... His second book, "Producing Leaders: 9 Principles for Developing High-Performing Teams," is on the way.
In this solo episode, Joe explains why the hardest part of leading an AV organization is rarely the technology. The real work happens behind the scenes in setting the vision, designing the organization, aligning people to purpose, creating trust, navigating conflict, and building an environment where talented people can do their best work.
The book grew out of more than 30 years of leadership, business ownership, organizational change, and team development. It also came from watching people Joe has mentored go on to become respected leaders in their own right. Rather than writing another general leadership book, he wanted to document the process he uses to build the foundation beneath successful teams and organizations.
Joe walks through the nine principles that shape the book:
- All of Life Is Sales: Influence and Opportunity
- Strategy with Purpose: Vision and the Non-Negotiables
- The Organizational Puzzle: Designing for Impact
- Business Powers the Mission: Stewardship, Sustainability, and Results
- Authentic Leadership: Vulnerability and Transparency
- The Empowerment Cycle: Mentorship, Trust, and Freedom
- Productive Conflict: Leading Through Change
- Failing Up: Realigning Your Path Forward
- Positioning Value: Advocacy, Branding, and Recognition
Along the way, Joe shares why leaders must remain accountable to the organizations they serve, why business sustainability is what keeps the mission alive, and how mentorship, trust, freedom, and accountability work together. He also talks about learning from failure, handling change without losing the team, and making sure good work does not remain invisible.
The book will include reflection questions and workshop materials that readers can use on their own or with their teams. It is written for current leaders, aspiring managers, project leaders, and anyone preparing to guide people through growth, change, or transformation.
"Producing Leaders" is scheduled for release on September 12, 2026, the eighth anniversary of the first Higher Ed AV Podcast episode, with pre-orders available in the next couple weeks. Joe also closes with a teaser... Listen to learn more.
9 JUN 2026 · In this episode of the Higher Ed AV Podcast, Joe Way welcomes longtime friend, industry leader, AVNation President, and now author Tim Albright for a deeply honest conversation about failure, resilience, and what it takes to build again. Tim’s new book, Building on Ashes, is not a technology manual or another AV industry playbook. It is a practical and personal framework for understanding failure, walking through the emotions that come with it, and finding what remains strong enough to become the foundation for the next chapter.
Joe and Tim explore the vulnerability behind writing a book, the discipline it took to finish it, and the emotional weight of finally completing something that had been decades in the making. Tim shares how the process forced him to revisit personal and professional failures, confront unfinished grief, and discover lessons that could help others move forward with honesty instead of shame.
The conversation also dives into the stages of failure, including anger, blame, reflection, and acceptance, and why failure often mirrors grief. Tim explains that when something fails, whether it is a business, relationship, career goal, or personal dream, we are grieving the loss of what we thought would be. But within that loss, there is almost always something left to learn from and build upon.
Together, Joe and Tim discuss mentorship, community, personal discipline, failure audits, daily habits, and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who will tell you the truth. They also reflect on how personal pain can become a source of service to others, and why none of us are as alone in our struggles as we think we are.
The episode closes with Tim’s reminder that failure is not the end of the story. Everyone fails, everyone carries ashes from something that did not work out, and everyone has the opportunity to take a deep breath, look honestly at what remains, and build again.
Purchase Building on Ashes:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Ashes-Practical-Framework-Overcoming/dp/B0H2R9YQY9
Connect with Tim Albright:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdalbright/
Twitter: https://www.x.com/tdalbright
Web: https://timalbright.com/
Connect with Joe Way:
Web: https://www.josiahway.com/
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/josiahway
X (Formerly Twitter): https://www.x.com/josiahway
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josiahway
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@josiahway
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@josiahway
Podcast dedicated to building the AV/IT tech manager community in higher education through discussions on classroom technology and audiovisual support.
Information
| Author | Joe Way, PhD, CTS |
| Organization | Higher Ed AV Media |
| Categories | Education , Technology , Entrepreneurship |
| Website | www.spreaker.com |
| joe@josiahway.com |
Copyright 2026 - Spreaker Inc. an iHeartMedia Company
