Keynotes & presentations
Fresh perspectives and accessible frameworks to spark conversation and inspire action.
SPEAKER · FACILITATOR · STRATEGIC ADVISOR
Helping higher education leaders navigate what comes next.
I love helping to bring perspective to higher education leaders navigating what comes next.
AI is creating remarkable new possibilities for higher education. Realizing its potential requires us to think beyond the technology and consider how we work, make decisions, serve our students, and prepare our institutions for the future.
Throughout my career, I have worked at the intersection of technology, data, people, and institutional strategy.
I bring experience, stories, questions, and frameworks that help leaders see connections, understand complex concepts, explore possibilities, and clarify direction. The objective isn't to arrive with the answer, but to help identify the questions and choices that matter most.
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Speaking & strategic engagements
Thoughtful conversations and practical perspectives for leaders shaping the future of higher education.
Executive & cabinet conversations
Exploring strategic questions, choices, and institutional opportunities together.
Leadership retreats & workshops
Facilitated discussions that connect people, ideas, and priorities.
Strategic advising
A thought partner for leaders navigating AI, change, and institutional transformation.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Conversations worth having
Three connected themes at the heart of my recent work.
01 / STRATEGY
Institutional AI strategy
What does it really mean to become an AI-enabled institution?
Moving beyond individual tools and experimentation to meaningful impact, grounded in trusted data, governance, people, skills, culture, risk, and student experience. How do we think strategically about AI's next chapter and what it means for our institutions?
02 / PEOPLE
Leadership & leading change
Technology continues to evolve, but leadership still comes down to people.
Building trust, creating alignment, developing capacity, and helping people navigate uncertainty are essential to moving our institutions forward. How do we lead with clarity and purpose while preparing our people for what comes next?
03 / THE FUTURE
Building for what comes next
How do we prepare our institutions for a future we can't completely predict?
Building the capacity to adapt requires more than technology. It means bringing together data, people, skills, governance, culture, and a willingness to experiment and learn. What foundations and capabilities do we need today to help our institutions thrive tomorrow?
WHAT OTHERS SAY
“David Weil is a compelling speaker, and a voice higher education leaders should be listening to.”
“David is a recognized thought leader on AI and emerging technology in higher education. The insights he shared at our New York Six presidents meeting are helping our campus leaders shape the future of their institutions.”
ABOUT DAVID
Experience across the institution. Perspective beyond technology.
✦ 2024 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award recipient
David Weil is Senior Vice President for Strategic Services and Initiatives at Ithaca College, providing executive leadership across human resources, information technology, analytics, AI, marketing communications, and strategic initiatives. He has worked in higher education since 1989 as a technologist, CIO, strategist, and executive leader.
He is the 2024 recipient of the EDUCAUSE Leadership Award, the association's highest individual honor, and serves on its Board of Directors. EDUCAUSE represents more than 100,000 higher education technology professionals across 2,100 institutions.
David is a frequent writer, speaker, facilitator, and podcast guest. His work and perspectives have been featured by EDUCAUSE, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Campus Technology, EdTech Magazine, eCampus News, and other higher education publications and programs.
IDEAS & PERSPECTIVES
Selected writing, listening & watching
Articles and conversations exploring technology, leadership, and institutional change.
Selected writing
Reshaping Higher Education IT in the Age of AI: Enabling Institutional Transformation
EDUCAUSE Review · 2026Institutional transformation, future services and the changing role of IT.
A Road Map for Leveraging AI at a Smaller Institution
EDUCAUSE Review · 2024A practical path for smaller institutions to build AI capability.
A Modern Framework for Institutional Analytics
EDUCAUSE Review · 2023The capabilities needed to turn institutional data into actionable insight.
7 Questions College Leaders Should Ask About AI
Inside Higher Ed · 2024Leadership-level questions for framing AI conversations.
Digital Transformation 2.0: The Age of AI
EDUCAUSE Review · 2024How AI accelerates the next phase of institutional digital transformation.
Putting All Three Components of Digital Transformation to Work on Campus
EDUCAUSE Review · 2021Why technology, culture and workforce must evolve together.
Listen & watch
The Fastest Tech Shift Higher Ed Has Ever Seen, with Ithaca's CIO David Weil
The VineDown Podcast · 2025AI, transformation and the importance of the longitudinal view.
People-First Leadership in Higher Ed
EDUCAUSE Shop Talk · 2025People, culture, purpose and leading through change.
Rethinking Student Success in an AI Era
Higher Ed Pulse · 2025AI, institutional data and the longitudinal student experience.
Applying Quiet Leadership to Digital Transformation 2.0
TRANSFORMED · 2025Trust, collaboration and a quieter approach to institutional change.
Developing a Tech Mindset at the Leadership Table
Future U · 2024Technology, data and institutional leadership beyond the IT organization.
ON STAGE & IN CONVERSATION
Selected presentations & panels
Leadership in the Age of AIKeynote · EDUCAUSE AI Summit, 2026
Thinking About the AI Ready CampusNew York Six Presidents Retreat, 2026
The Future of AI in Higher EducationPanelist · CollegeVine Vineyard, 2026
A Human Framework for Campus AI: Implementing AI with Purpose and PeopleKeynote · HESS National Conference, 2025
7 Questions College Leaders Should Ask About AIKeynote · UNYCC Fall Focus Conference, 2024
Leadership Matters, & Other Lessons I Learned along the WayEDUCAUSE National Conference, 2024
LET'S CONNECT
What's next for your institution?
I'd welcome a conversation about speaking, facilitating, or working together on the questions that matter to your institution.
Start a conversation ↗daveweil1@gmail.com