Ep. 40 - Corey Reed: From Hotels to Horned Frogs: Lessons in Scalable Web Management — The Signal

In this episode of Edtech Connect, host Jeff Dillon chats with Corey Reed, Director of Web Management at TCU, about bridging the gap between marketing and IT in higher ed’s digital landscape.

From his early days designing Flash websites (RIP) to leading TCU’s search optimization and accessibility efforts, Corey shares how his hospitality tech background translates to campus—and why AI-powered analytics are revolutionizing content strategy.

Discover how TCU tackles "content sprawl," balances innovation with legacy systems, and prepares for a future where generative AI reshapes student search behavior.

Key Takeaways

From Flash to Future: Corey’s graphic design roots taught him to adapt—now he’s applying that flexibility to AI’s rapid evolution in higher ed.
Marketing-Led Web Teams: Why embedding web leadership in marketing (not IT) accelerates decision-making and aligns with institutional goals.
AI as an Analytics Powerhouse: Tools like AI-enhanced search analytics help small teams "do more with less" by spotting trends faster.
Content Sprawl Solutions: Weekly crawlers + workshops keep TCU’s 10K+ pages fresh, accessible, and student-focused.
The "Future You" Mindset: Building today’s tech stack to make future Corey’s job easier (thank you, past Corey!).
Accessibility as a Process: WCAG 2.2 readiness and remediation groups ensure compliance isn’t a one-time project.

Listen now for deep insights into balancing tradition and transformation—where AI meets accessibility and every pixel has purpose.

Find Corey Reed here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyreed/

Texas Christian University

https://tcu.edu/

EdTech Connect

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - EdTech Connect: Fear and Uncertainty
(00:01:24) - Corey Reed
(00:02:22) - Web Development in the Elevator
(00:06:27) - Turnaround at Sabre: From Hospitality to Higher Ed
(00:10:25) - Have We Lost Our Lead Marketing Person?
(00:11:29) - Have Your Role in Technology Been Eliminated?
(00:15:27) - How AI is Affecting Site Traffic and Conversion
(00:17:40) - Why is generative AI so important for higher ed search?
(00:22:47) - The Hardest Skill to Hire for
(00:28:03) - TCU's accessibility efforts
(00:30:11) - EdTech Connect