How can institutions of higher education respond to and best support the changing needs of industry to educate and train their workforce? How can employers respond quickly to provide their employees with the right skills at the right time? How can companies retain their employees and provide lifelong learning opportunities? During this panel discussion, led by Stephen Flavin, Vice President and Dean of WPI’s Academic and Corporate Engagement Division, we will hear from Industry leaders directly about the types of support they need from colleges and universities to meet the evolving education and training needs of their workforce.
Mario Miele has over 20 year of experience related to the design, fabrication, installation, start up and validation of biologics manufacturing equipment and facilities. Currently, Mario is the Director of Engineering, Maintenance, and EHS at AbbVie’s Worcester, MA location. Here, his mission is to direct an organization that enables the discovery, development, and launch of life changing therapies by providing safe, sustainable, and reliable solutions for the site’s current and future challenges. Mario holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Management both from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Chris Kelly is National Grid’s Chief Engineer and heads up the Electrical Engineering and Network Solutions Group. Responsible for road-mapping and delivering the “Grid of the Future” for a major US, investor owned utility. Prior to his Chief Engineer role, Chris was National Grid’s Senior Vice President of Electric Systems Engineering, with nearly 30 years of service to the energy and telecommunication industries. He had also worked as the Director of Substation, Protection, and Telecommunication Engineering, and held many other leadership roles in the energy sector. Prior to that, Chris worked for the Department of Defense in their telecommunication unit, specializing in point-to-point communications and encryption. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Electrical Engineering program (B.S.E.E.) and holds an M.B.A. degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Chris is also a registered professional engineer in the state of Massachusetts.
Hugh has over 15 years of insurance experience in the P&C, Life, and Health sectors. He began leading the digital transformation process at MAPFRE Insurance with launch of VERTI in 2017 and has been a member of the MAPFRE Innovation office since 2015. Using Design Thinking strategies, Hugh has brought numerous creative programs and ideas to pilot or production. By building strong relationships inside and outside the MAPFRE organization, Hugh continues to drive the organization to collaborate with both local and global partners.
Moderator:
Stephen currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at MassEcon, a state-wide, non-profit economic development organization; he's a member of the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Ecosystem Leadership Group; and a co-chair to the talent development team of the Massachusetts High Technology Council. Stephen frequently present to executive groups and industry conferences on the evolving landscape of academic-industry collaborations and best practice workforce development solutions.
Prior to joining the WPI community, Stephen held senior management positions at Babson College, including associate dean of Babson’s School of Executive Education and dean of executive education. Stephen also served as a director for Global Knowledge Network. He earned a BS and a JD at Suffolk University.
Engage in a highly interactive 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!).
Sandi Pershing has been with the University of Utah since 2000, and has served as Assistant Vice President for Engagement since 2011. Pershing also served as Assistant Dean, and as Dean of Continuing Education from 2004-2016. She has worked as an organizational consultant and trainer in the areas of teamwork, organizational change, strategic planning, leadership, learning transfer, time management, creativity, management, and conflict resolution. Pershing is also the co-author of Organization Theory and Governance for the 21st Century (2014) with Eric Austin, and she co-edited Classic Readings in Organizational Behavior(2008) with J. Steven Ott and Richard Simpson, and Classics in Public Administration (2003) with Jay Shafritz and Albert Hyde.
Karen Sibley is Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Dean of the School of Professional Studies (SPS) at Brown University, Providence, RI. Dean Sibley is also the Vice Chair of the Department of Education at the University She is responsible for creating innovative educational opportunities that reach a global audience of learners and include new blended learning (minimal residential requirements) post-graduate and Master’s degree programs, programs for Brown alumni and professionals in leadership positions, innovative faculty efforts in digital education, and programs for K-12 students and teachers. She also serves the University through exploration of new potentials for collaboration across institutions, with new technology platforms and in areas of civic engagement and general institutional innovation.
The School of Professional Studies was formally launched at Brown on July 1, 2014. The School develops and oversees executive Master’s degrees, undergraduate and pre-college summer programs enrolling over 6,500 students, online courses both credit and non-credit, and the Choices Program which develops social studies curriculum materials for use in high schools across the United States and around the world. SPS collaborates with Brown’s Graduate School to enhance outreach to students seeking residential masters degrees and will engage with Brown’s Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship to support fast-track innovation under the leadership of that new unit. SPS is also a partner to activities under the leadership of the Office of Global Engagement.
Sibley is a forward thinking academic leader eager to deploy innovative technologies and address fast-changing circumstances. In her work she creates access to high quality learning opportunities in times that demand continuous knowledge acquisition and capacity enhancement across the learner spectrum, from young people to mid-career and senior executive leaders.
Sibley has long been involved at a national level and served in many leadership capacities in higher education professional organizations. She has made substantial contributions and served as a mentor to many in the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, Association of University Summer Sessions, and the North American Association of Summer Sessions all of which she served as President. Sibley is past Chair of the Alumni Advisory Board for the Executive Doctorate, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her Doctorate in Higher Education Management. She has a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She completed the HERS leadership program at Wellesley College and the Leadership Development Program at the Center for Creative Leadership. Sibley began her career as a teacher of high school English and writing.
Bob Hansen, CEOHansen previously served as Associate Provost for University Outreach at the University of Southern Maine, a regional public university located in Portland, Maine. Prior to that position, he spent six years at Saint Xavier University of Chicago as Assistant to the President & Secretary of the Corporation, and then as founding Executive Director of Orland Park Campus & Off-Campus Programs. Hansen also previously served as Assistant to the Governor for Education in the administration of former Illinois governor, Jim Edgar. Hansen earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Notre Dame.
This presentation by Jim Fong, Chief Research Officer for UPCEA, will focus on how higher education is being shaped by the growing audience of millennials which is quickly becoming the majority of decision-makers, influencers, managers, directors, and organizational leaders.
Jim Fong, Founding DirectorJim Fong is the founding director of UPCEA’s Center for Research and Strategy. In his role, Mr. Fong has analyzed demographic, occupational, technological and societal trends and data to help the higher education community better serve the adult and corporate learner. As the Center’s director, he works closely with dozens of colleges and universities annually in new program development initiatives, enrollment management and marketing process analyses and the review of online and continuing education portfolios.
Prior to joining UPCEA, Mr. Fong worked as a higher education strategic marketing and CRM consultant and researcher for two firms and prior to that was the Director of Marketing, Research and Planning for Penn State Outreach. At Penn State Outreach, he was responsible for strategic marketing, marketing management, research, creative and database teams. Mr. Fong played a major role in the early launch of Penn State’s World Campus by assessing new program needs and the development of marketing strategies and systems.
Jim holds an M.B.A., an M.S. in Applied Statistics and a B.S. in Mathematics, all from The University of Vermont. In 2004, UPCEA awarded him the Adelle Robertson Award as its Continuing Professional Educator for the year. That year, he also received the Mid-Atlantic Region’s Distinguished Service Award
This workshop will focus on how to create a culture of respect in one’s organization to engage and retain students, employees, and business partners.
Dr. Paul is the leading authority on employee engagement and respect in the workplace. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Yale University and has worked in the field of human resources and organizational development for over 25 years. His best-selling McGraw-Hill business book “Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT™” has received critical acclaim around the world and been translated into several languages.
Paul’s upcoming book, “Difficult Conversations: Strategies for Turning Confrontation into Collaboration,” helps individuals restore relationships that have deteriorated due to interpersonal conflict and, especially, in cases where individuals feel disrespected. These same strategies also help to prevent conflict going forward and promote respectful communication in both personal and professional relationships.
Paul is committed to spreading respect in the workplace because it is both the right thing to do and because treating people with respect leads to extraordinarily high levels of employee engagement and bottom line business results.
Paul L. Marciano, Ph.D.