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New York Professional Events List
Leadership in Higher Education Conference
Date
Organizer
Venue
Location
Advance Your Academic Leadership Skills
Reach your greatest leadership potential: Join colleagues from around the world at the Leadership in Higher Education Conference.
Running October 19–21 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, the two-and-a-half-day event explores the groundbreaking strategies, influential trends, and best practices that define effective leadership at the college and university levels today.
From the company that brought you The Teaching Professor Conference, the Leadership in Higher Education Conference delivers the same kind of superior programming and networking opportunities but dedicated to academic leaders.
You will hear from a roster of prestigious experts and nationally recognized thought leaders. A broad mix of plenary addresses, concurrent sessions, and timely roundtable discussions leave no topic untouched. Among the conference tracks will be:
- Best Practices for Deans and Department Chairs
- Leadership and Management
- Evaluation and Program/Department Assessment
- Faculty Hiring and Development
- Issues and Trends in Higher Education
Visit the Conference Tracks page for a more detailed list of what will be covered in each track.
Beyond the formal presentations, you will have many opportunities to learn from and share experiences with peers from a wide range of academic institutions in a cordial and collaborative setting.
Perhaps you are at the midpoint in your career. Maybe you already have leadership experience and hope to attain a higher position, or you are a faculty member aspiring to a leadership position. Wherever you fall on the management spectrum, the Leadership in Higher Education Conference can help you reach your goals. Sessions will be especially geared for:
- Department chairs
- Division heads
- Deans
- Academic VPs
- Program or project directors
- Provosts
Register today and you will be able to:
- Expand your credentials. You will demonstrate commitment to your professional development and raise the level of leadership for your school and students.
- Learn from the best. Gain knowledge on important topics from preeminent experts, practitioners, and specialists.
- Share ideas with colleagues. Exchange experiences and observations with both peers and more-knowledgeable presenters.
- See what is working across the country. Attain a practical, broad-based view of successful strategies at colleges and universities nationwide.
- Cross-train your expertise. Take part in programming and networking that cut across disciplines.
- Make your dollars go further. The breadth and depth of the knowledge base, talent pool of conference presenters, and networking opportunities ensure extraordinary value for your money.
Because the scope of the conference has been deliberately kept comfortably midsize, participants can take full advantage of the comprehensive schedule—and still enjoy one-on-one conversations with other attendees in an informal, casual atmosphere.
As members of the academic community are tasked with greater accountability than ever before, effective leadership is a highly desired, competitive trait. The Leadership in Higher Education Conference puts the tools in your hands to develop professionally, exposes you to ideas and strategies that you can apply at your own school, and boosts your career progress. Register today!
Conference Schedule
Program
2020 Leadership in Higher Education Conference
Schedule is subject to change.
Thursday, October 19, 2020 |
|
Noon–5:00 pm |
Registration open |
1:00–4:30 pm |
Preconference Workshop: |
1:00–4:30 pm |
Preconference Workshop: |
1:00–4:30 pm |
Preconference Workshop: |
5:00–5:15 pm |
Conference welcome |
5:15–6:30 pm |
Opening plenary: |
6:30–8:00 pm |
Reception: meet & greet colleagues, presenters, and exhibitors |
8:00 pm |
Dinner and evening on your own |
|
|
Friday, October 20, 2020 |
|
7:30 am–5:00 pm |
Registration open |
7:30–8:30 am |
Continental breakfast |
8:45–9:45 am |
Concurrent sessions |
10:00–11:00 am |
Concurrent sessions |
11:15 am– |
Box Lunch & Roundtables |
1:00–2:00 pm |
Concurrent sessions |
2:15–3:15 pm |
Concurrent sessions |
3:30–4:30 pm |
Concurrent sessions |
5:00–7:30 pm |
Dinner plenary: |
|
|
Saturday, October 21, 2020 |
|
7:30–10:00 am |
Registration open |
7:30–8:30 am |
Continental breakfast |
8:45–9:45 am |
Concurrent sessions |
10:00–11:00 am |
Concurrent sessions |
11:15 am– |
Lunch plenary: |
1:30–2:30 pm |
Concurrent sessions |
2:45–3:45 pm |
Concurrent sessions |
3:45 pm |
Sendoff with travel snack |
Preconference Workshops
The Leadership in Higher Education Conference offers three half-day preconference workshops. The cost is $299 for each workshop.
Enrollment is offered during conference registration.
If you have already registered for the conference, call 608-246-3590 to enroll.
Best Practices for Online Course Design, Delivery, and Review
Thursday, October 19, 2020 | 1:00–4:30 pm
Stephanie K. Ferguson, dean of distance learning and professional studies, New Mexico Junior College
As demand for online courses and the flexibility they provide increases, it is essential for institutions and their administrators to monitor and assess the quality of online course design and delivery through a systematic review process. Developing such a process can, in turn, support institutional and programmatic accreditation efforts as well as provide data for both professional development and human resource decisions.
Through case studies, artifacts, discussion, and small group activities, participants will share their perspectives and experience while gaining insight on and practicing with methods of designing, delivering, and reviewing online course content.
Learning goals:
- Articulate best practices in quality online course design and delivery
- Identify when and how best practices in online course design are implemented
- Develop a plan to review online courses to determine parity between face-to-face and online content quality and rigor
Creating Your Data-Informed Culture
Thursday, October 19, 2020 | 1:00–4:30 pm
Richard L. Riccardi, associate vice president for institutional effectiveness, Southern Connecticut State University
Data-driven change. It’s what every academic leader wants, but only a handful of institutions have achieved this culture shift. To be successful, deans and department chairs need access to quality, timely information, but many lack both the knowledge and resources to address their critical issues. This pre-conference workshop will examine the terminology and its impact on the institution, describe the challenges and benefits of its implementation, illustrate the resources/skill-sets needed, and offer real-world examples of analyses that help to predict future student demand by identifying the data elements necessary for success. In this age of “doing more with less,” this workshop will offer methods and metrics that target roadblocks and red flags to student success and faculty productivity, providing best practices in creating a culture informed by data and not driven by anecdotes.
Effectively Navigating the Five Most Difficult Legal Issues Faced by Deans and Department Chairs
Thursday, October 19, 2020 | 1:00–4:30 pm
Scott Schneider, JD, Partner, Fisher Phillips
In this workshop, participants will work to resolve a series of hypothetical situations involving some of the most difficult legal and practical issues they may encounter when serving in academic leadership positions, including:
- Navigating discrimination and contract issues in the academic hiring process
- Dealing with a colleague who is acting erratically and raising safety concerns
- Handling faculty performance problems especially in situations where the faculty member has complained about mistreatment
- Denying tenure and terminating a tenure-line professor
- Handling employee and student Title IX concerns
In discussing these issues, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the applicable law and discuss the unique aspects of the academic setting which often make compliance especially challenging.
Plenary Sessions
The 2020 Leadership in Higher Education Conference’s Plenary Sessions.
Opening Plenary Session
Thursday, October 19, 2020 | 5:15-6:30 pm
The Value of the Liberal Arts Education
Gregory Crawford, president, Miami University
In a climate that often speaks to the merits of hard science and STEM in advancing the human condition, it is the knowledge acquired through a holistic education that adds the depth and breadth of both perspective and thought that are vital to creating and solving problems in the world today. The skills that lend themselves to entrepreneurial activities and innovation are, at their core, the ability to synthesize complex ideas and to analyze multi-dimensionally. The benefit of the liberal arts education is that it complements and broadens one’s understanding of any one concept—building connections that otherwise might not be made. We will explore how the liberal arts deepen the educational experience and enhance one’s ability to lead.
About the Presenter:
Gregory Crawford, Miami University’s 22nd president, started enthusiastically in that role in July of 2020. For eight years prior, he was faculty at the University of Notre Dame, serving as dean of the College of Science, then as vice president, and finally as associate provost. From 1996-2008, Crawford was a faculty member at Brown University and served as dean of engineering. With a doctorate in chemical physics from Kent State University, he is also an entrepreneur holding 21 US patents and patent applications, and co-founder of two start-up companies. Crawford is passionate about the role of liberal arts in education, and is an advocate of inclusive excellence, openness, and shared governance. A native of Elyria, Ohio, Crawford is an avid bicyclist.
Dinner Plenary Session
Friday, October 20, 2020 | 6:30-7:30 pm
Reasons to be Optimistic about Pessimism and Pessimistic about Optimism
Jeffrey L. Buller, senior partner, ATLAS Leadership Training
Positive leadership (and, in particular, positive academic leadership) is frequently confused with the so-called “power of positive thinking.” But a large body of recent literature has suggested that positive thinking, blind optimism, and groundless confidence are more likely to result in leadership disasters than visionary triumphs. Certainly, there are times when optimism is an asset as an academic leader, but there are also times when pessimism, skepticism, and even cynicism are preferred. By exploring when one perspective is preferable to the other, discover how both learned optimism and learned pessimism are critical elements of positive academic leadership: the identification of the most constructive possible strategy in any situation and the direction of attention toward what can be achieved as opposed to what is impossible, regrettable, or impractical.
About the Presenter:
Jeffrey L. Buller, PhD, has been a department chair or dean for 31 of his 32 years in higher education. He is the dean of the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University. His most recent book, Positive Academic Leadership: How to Stop Putting Out Fires and Start Making a Difference was released by Jossey-Bass in 2013. Buller teaches several courses each year at the Honors College, being a collegial supporter of other programs at FAU, and advising universities both in the United States and abroad on techniques of effective administration.
Lunch Plenary Session
Saturday, October 21, 2020 | 12:15–1:15 pm
Higher Education is Essential to Bridging the Skills Gap
Michael Lovell, president, Marquette University
Significant percentages of graduating college students are unemployed or underemployed six months after graduation. Corporate leaders frequently say they can’t get enough recent graduates with the right skills to fit their talent pipeline. This has led to misperceptions that a liberal arts education is becoming obsolete. In reality, liberal arts are becoming even more important as technology transforms the workforce needs of the future. From my own experience, I know that entering the labor market with multiple mechanical engineering degrees but not all the liberal arts skills would periodically slow my progress. We will explore co-op and internship success stories, the need to partner with key players in both the public and private sectors, and the idea that a liberal arts education, along with technical skills, can better prepare students for success in their careers and in life.
Learning goals:
- Understand the value of a liberal arts education with technical skills to prepare students for their careers and lives more completely
- Explore the need to collaborate with public and private sectors—especially key corporate partners
- Explore and debunk the stigmas attached to technical careers in manufacturing and global freshwater innovation
- Focus on flipped classrooms and hands-on education
About the Presenter:
Dr. Michael R. Lovell joined Marquette University as the 24th president in July of 2020. Under his guidance, Marquette is focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, and community renewal and development—all consistent with the university’s Catholic, Jesuit mission. Along with his leadership team, Lovell is working toward implementing Marquette’s strategic plan, Beyond Boundaries, coordinating it with new plans for academic programs and campus infrastructure. The Core of Common Studies Revision Project is improving undergraduate education, and the Campus Master Plan Initiative is integrating academic, physical, and financial priorities.
President Lovell holds three academic degrees in mechanical engineering, including a doctorate, from the University of Pittsburgh.
Conference Tracks
Leadership in Higher Education Conference 2020
Conference Tracks and Descriptions
1. Best Practices for Deans and Department Chairs
This track will give you all the tools you need to be a success:
- Faculty evaluation basics
- Managing a department or division
- What you need to know about learning theory and pedagogy
- Basic budgeting for a department and doing more with less
- New Leadership: A successful first year for newly appointed deans or chairs
2. Leadership and Management
Learn effective management practices:
- Facilitating a collegial department
- Managing challenging faculty situations
- Balancing faculty and administrative needs
- Handling conflict
3. Evaluation and Program/Department Assessment
Assessment is very much on the minds of administrators, as states, accreditors, students, and parents all look for evidence of quality. Topics include:
- Working with accreditors
- Understanding trends in state assessment and compliance
- Strategic planning for evaluation and assessment
- Best practices in learning assessment
4. Faculty Hiring and Development
One of the most important jobs of an academic leader is to select the right new department members and provide faculty development opportunities, such as:
- Conducting effective searches
- Designing an effective faculty development program
- Understanding the different needs of faculty who teach face-to-face, in hybrid classrooms, and online
- Using technology and online delivery for faculty development
- Managing promotion and tenure
5. Issues and Trends in Higher Education
Topics may include:
- Financial
- Legal/Regulatory
- ADA or UDL compliance
- Diversity
- Effective budgeting