Central Region Conference
September 26-28, 2018
Are you an Emerging Leader?
Emerging Leaders are UPCEA members who are mid-level professionals who aspire to more senior roles in professional, continuing, and/or online (PCO) higher education. And the upcoming UPCEA Central Region Conference is ripe with opportunities to provide Emerging Leaders with avenues in which to develop professionally, engage actively in UPCEA, and to successfully navigate the event itself.
Beginning with a pre-conference, participants take part in a deep dive into leadership skill development. Within the conference, participants are invited to attend sessions tagged “Emerging Leaders,” which means that they are designed to offer skill development in areas critical for senior leadership like strategic planning, innovation, and leading teams. There will also be special opportunities allowing ample time to network with peers and senior leaders. At the end of the event a facilitated capstone session will provide an opportunity to reflect upon the experience, make plans to continue the journey, and to take the next steps to earn a badge that recognizes these achievements.
Registration:
Fee: $125
Advance registration is required.
The Emerging Leaders Regional Program includes the pre-conference (continental breakfast, instrument provided), the facilitated capstone session, dedicated content throughout the conference, facilitated networking, and opportunities to join a post-event cohort and to earn a formal credential (badge). Emerging Leaders Regional Program registration is in addition to full conference registration, which is required for the Emerging Leaders Regional Program Pre-Conference and Capstone participation.
In addition to the Pre-Conference and Capstone sessions, within the conference participants are invited to attend sessions tagged “Emerging Leaders,” ** on concurrent and general sessions pages. These sessions are designed to offer skill development in areas critical for senior leadership, as well as provide special social opportunities allowing ample time to network with peers and senior leaders. All of these elements have been collected into a schedule below.
8:30-11:30a.m Pre-Conference
Identifying and Leveraging Strengths for Leadership Excellence in Professional, Continuing, and Online Higher Education
(Benton)
Participants of this pre-conference workshop will have an opportunity to explore their leadership strengths and ways of leveraging these strengths within the context of professional, continuing, and online higher education. Dr. Ralph Gigliotti, Director of Leadership Development and Research from the Rutgers University Center for Organizational Leadership, will lead the group in an interactive facilitation of the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, and participants will discuss ways of applying their unique strengths to address the current needs of their unit, department, or institution. The session will conclude with an overview of recommended strategies for enhancing these strengths as individuals consider future leadership roles within higher education.
Facilitator:
Ralph A. Gigliotti, Ph.D., Rutgers UniversityDr. Gigliotti is Director of Leadership Development and Research in the Rutgers University Center Organizational Leadership, where he oversees a number of faculty and staff leadership development initiatives and leads several research projects related to leadership and communication in higher education. He also serves as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Communication and an associate faculty member in the Ph.D. Program in Higher Education at Rutgers. Ralph’s research interests explore the intersection of organizational communication, leadership, and crisis communication, particularly in the context of higher education. His research appears in numerous books and journals, including the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Journal of Leadership Education, and Atlantic Journal of Communication. Ralph is also the co-author of A Guide for Leaders in Higher Education: Core Concepts, Competencies, and Tools (Stylus Publishing, 2017) and Leadership: The Dynamics of Communication and Social Influence in Personal and Professional Settings (Kendall Hunt Publishing).
3:10 - 4:00p.m. Concurrent Session II
From None to Known: Fostering and Managing Rapid Online Growth Part II
Online Administration
(Benton)
Starting a centralized online/extended learning unit requires strategies that align with the history, core values, structure, and climate of individual colleges and universities. In this two-part presentation, leaders from a large and a mid-size institution will discuss their recent journeys in building new centralized online units for their campuses. Presenters will highlight major decision points that impact long-term success, discuss options and potential positive and negative outcomes, and bring to light unforeseen catalysts and barriers.
This session is designed to allow participants to meet the following learning outcomes:
Steve VandenAvond, Northern Michigan University
Robert Griffiths, The Ohio State University
7:45 - 8:30a.m. UPCEA Central Region Annual Update (All Attendees Welcome)
(Landmark Ballroom 5-7)
8:40 - 9:40a.m. General Session III - PCO 2025: The Future of Professional, Continuing, and Online Education
(Landmark Ballroom 5-7)
Moderator:
Engage in a highly interaction session with a panel of senior leaders on where our dynamic field is headed. Alternative credentials, shifting demographics, and new models are already shaping how institutions serve students. This group of panelists will provide their unique perspectives on organizational and market forces that are emerging, how they are responding at their institutions, and how UPCEA members will lead us into the near-term future (2025!).
11:10a.m. - 12:00p.m. Concurrent Session III
A Project Management Approach to Institutional Online Readiness Assessment
Program Planning and Implementation
(Benton)
The presenter will examine the various institutional operational pieces that need to be considered in initiating a mass production of online courses.
This session is designed to allow participants to meet the following learning outcomes:
Adam Samhouri, Higher Learning Partners of Regis University
5:30 - 7:00p.m. Washington University Reception
(Statler Ballroom)
8:00 - 8:50a.m. Concurrent Session IV
Design Thinking Leading to Academic Innovation and Success
Program Planning and Implementation
(Benton)
If you are not implementing design thinking to your program development, you are missing a critical method that has proven to be successful. Come see how MSU’s Innovation HUB and other institutions have used Design Thinking to create successful programs, centers, and processes to become more successful.
This session is designed to allow participants to meet the following learning outcomes:
Jerry Rhead, Michigan State University
Meni Sarris, Story+Structure
9:00 - 9:50a.m. Concurrent Session V
The Secret Sauce of Storytelling: Harness the Power of Structure to Increase Engagement
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
(Benton)
Structure is the secret sauce of storytelling and is applicable to any medium: a testimonial, blog, email campaign or Facebook post. Structure is invisible to the viewer, but yields an emotional response. Understanding how to apply this simple four-part system gives you the same power as pop culture. Best of all, applying this structure is free. Any marketing department, regardless of budget, can implement this system and increase engagement.
This session is designed to allow participants to meet the following learning outcomes:
Sarah Whorton, Mizzou Online
10:00 - 11:00a.m. General Session VI
It’s a New Day and Change is the New Normal
(Landmark Ballroom 5-7)
No matter your institution type, location, or size, it is highly likely you are experiencing some degree of change. Whether it is a senior leadership change, organizational makeover, or program/market transformation, how do you survive and thrive in today’s increasingly VUCA world? What are the tools, strategies and approaches you can use as you lead and manage in a time of heightened ambiguity? Join me in exploring these change essentials for today’s continuing and digital learning leader.
11:30 - 12:15p.m. Capstone Session
Recapping the Program and Next Steps
(Benton)
Participants will be guided in this opportunity to reflect upon their experiences and invited to consider next steps, including opting-into a future cohort of peers, earning a credential (badge) recognizing this experience, and to learning about future volunteer leadership opportunities within UPCEA.
Facilitators:
Andrew Hathaway, MA, Mizzou OnlineAndrew Hathaway has been a Student Support Specialist and Researcher for Mizzou Online at the University of Missouri in Columbia since the summer of 2017. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Springfield and a master’s degree in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Missouri. Andrew studied behavioral economics and research methods, and he worked in the Medical Decisions Research Lab within the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri. He currently uses his knowledge and experience supporting online students and the research team at Mizzou Online.
Amy Claire Heitzman, Ph.D., UPCEADr. Heitzman is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Learning Officer for UPCEA. With degrees in art history from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago, Amy began her career in museum education, developing programs and training museum educators at various university art museums, as well as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Art. In 2002, after having served as Education Director for the Meadows Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University, her interest in adult learners led her to the directorship of SMU’s Continuing Education unit. As Executive Director of Continuing and Professional Education, Amy directed a new strategic vision for the unit, effectively doubling the number of programs offered and students served, increasing the university’s capacity to more deeply engage with its community. While at SMU, Amy served in various leadership roles including board membership in the SMU Staff Association and the Hegi Family Career Center as well as an appointed member for the Presidential Council for Community Engagement and the Faculty and Staff Committee of the Second Century Capital Campaign. It was during her time at SMU that she earned graduate certificates in marketing and nonprofit leadership, as well as the M.Ed. Amy earned her doctorate in Higher Education Administration at The University of Texas at Austin in 2014, and her dissertation focused on female student veterans in higher education. Amy writes and presents on examinations of nontraditional learners, the experiences of student veterans—particularly those of female student veterans, as well as comparative studies of international higher education systems. Amy has been active with various professional organizations throughout her career, including the Executive Committee of the UPCEA Board of Directors; serving as a member of the InsideTrack National Advisory Board, the George W. Bush Institute’s Military Service Institute Education and Training Task Force, and the Higher Education Advisory Group of the Credential Engine; and serving as a reviewer for the Chief Learning Officer LearningElite program, the Student Veterans of America National Conference, and the Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference.
Terrie Nagel, Ph.D., Mizzou OnlineDr. Terrie Nagel is the Assistant Director of Research for Mizzou Online at the University of Missouri. She has worked for Mizzou Online for over 20 years in various roles. She has also been involved in UPCEA at the regional and national levels for 14 years. In 2016, she received her Doctorate in Educational Research Methods and Analysis from the University of Missouri, where she also earned a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology.