I wrote this post before and after rioters stormed the United States Capitol building. I have notes for a post about that… event, but that’s come after this one because of scheduling.
Today I’d like to announce the Future Trends Forum schedule for the next two+ months, and invite you all to register for sessions. I’m very excited about the guests and topics:
January 14, 2021 – how does innovation happen at a college or university?
What does real-world academic innovation look like in today’s colleges and universities?
In this session we’ve assembled a brilliant panel of experienced academics, each with a story to tell. They include:
- Kate Miffitt, Assistant Director of Innovation at California State University’s Office of the Chancellor.
- Matthew Rascoff, Associate Vice Provost for Digital Education and Innovation at Duke University.
- Mike Goudzwaard, Associate Director of Learning Innovation, Dartmouth College.
- Ari Bader-Natal, Chief Technology Officer for Calbright College, a newly-launched California Community College.
January 21 – how are academic staff faring in this atmosphere of crisis?
How are academic staff doing during this attenuated academic crisis?
We’ll explore the question with Lee Skallerup Bessette, Learning Design Specialist at the Center for New Designs for Learning and Scholarship at the Georgetown University, and author of a widely discussed Chronicle of Higher Education article, “The Staff Are Not OK.”
January 28 – reinventing the liberal arts college.
How will liberal education be transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic?
We will meet with professors Beth Benedix and Steven Volk to explore their new book, The Post-Pandemic Liberal Arts College: A Manifesto for Reinvention (publisher; our bookstore).
February 4 – a conversation with a rising campus IT star.
Who are the rising leaders of campus technology?
This Thursday we’ll meet with Shannon Dunn, assistant director at the University of Florida’s Information Technology department, and winner of the 2020 EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award.
February 11 – OUR FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY.
This week the Future Trends Forum turns five years old.
It’s a bit astonishing to think that we’ve been going – and growing! – for half a decade.
So join us for memories, goofy fun, prize giveaways, and general good spirits.
February 25 – a conversation with an extraordinary university president.
How can we redesign a public university?
The Future Trends Forum will meet with Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc, President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and leader of that institution’s major transformation.
March 11 – supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in campus IT.
How can campus IT best support diversity and inclusion?
In this session we’ll meet with Deborah Keyek-Franssen, Associate Vice President and Dean of Online and Continuing Education at the University of Utah, and winner of a major EDUCAUSE award. She was cited for: “her dynamic and visionary leadership to promote positive relationships between the academy and the IT community and for her research and advocacy in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across the IT practice.”
One fan shared her admiration on Twitter:
Deborah Keyek-Franssen is who I want to be when I grow up! 🙂
— HiEdDanielle (@HiEdDanielle) January 7, 2021
There is more to come, with a stack of potential guests in various points within the Forum pipeline. Is this kind of look ahead to upcoming events useful?
You can sign up here for our weekly email announcement. Join us!
