Past Speakers

Understanding Differences that Prioritize Humanity

Speaker: Kyle A. Reyes, Ph.D.
Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Utah Valley University

Keynote Address

The important work of human and cultural understanding has been nested in thorny political agendas that often don’t invite healthy exchange. Rather than feed into the political divide, Dr. Kyle Reyes presents an approach to understanding differences that prioritizes humanity.

Humanity requires work unique to the individual and the collective; Dr. Reyes introduces a framework that invites us to improve how we show up in the world and engage with others.

Student Workshop

The student workshop will drive home the lenses, skills, and competencies needed to have an impact on your families and communities, no matter what your major is. I hope to inspire a deep desire to be intentional about infusing humanity into your work even as we become more technology driven (A.I.) and politically polarized.

Faculty/Staff Workshop

The faculty/staff workshop will focus on what the lenses of humanity look like in every day student services, in the classroom, and in your overall life.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Kyle A. Reyes currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Utah Valley University. Before this appointment in October 2022, Dr. Reyes served for five years as VP of Student Affairs, and from 2014-2017, Kyle served as UVU’s Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer. In that role, he led the development and implementation of UVU’s nationally-recognized Strategic Inclusion Plan, consisting of nearly 40 initiatives focused on making UVU a more inclusive campus.

Dr. Reyes is also a tenured Associate Professor of Education at UVU, teaching courses in Multicultural Education, Family & Community Partnerships, and Arts-based Integration. His research focuses on arts-based student empowerment, leadership for equity and access, and institution-wide inclusion and diversity strategic planning.

lensesofhumanity.com

Where You’re From Shouldn’t Determine Where You’re Going

Speaker: Raj Chetty, Ph.D.
William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights

Keynote Address

• What the data reveals: which industries, firms, and sectors lead to long-term opportunity
• Why some students with talent don’t reach high-paying jobs and what you can do differently (maybe how students with talent don’t reach any job?)
• How to think about ROI, networks, and building a future across sectors like business, education, health, and public service

Faculty & Staff Keynote and Q &A

• Key findings from Opportunity Insights, mobility trends by geography/major/institution, and implications for higher education

Speaker Bio

Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity: how we can give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding? Chetty’s work has been widely cited in academia, media outlets, and policy discussions in the United States and beyond.

Chetty received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003 and is one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field, and Harvard’s George Ledlie prize, awarded for research that made the most valuable contribution to science, or in any way for the benefit of mankind.

rajchetty.com

WSU Back to School Panel and Keynote Address

Speaker: Derrick Anderson, Ph.D.
Vice President for Enterprise Design and Policy at the University of Utah.

Back to School Panel

• Panel:
  • Chuck Welch, President & CEO, AASCU
  • Geoff Landward, Commissioner of Higher Education
  • Brad Mortensen, President
• Topic: The Future of Higher Education

Back to School Keynote

• Topic: Higher Education at the Crossroads: Meeting the Moment

Speaker Bio

Dr. Anderson is an innovative leader in higher education policy, skilled in institutional transformation and public sector strategy. As the inaugural Vice President for Enterprise Design and Policy at the University of Utah, he leads efforts to imagine and design bold new futures for higher education, bridging academic research, public service, and enterprise-scale innovation.

Before joining the University of Utah, Dr. Anderson served as Senior Vice President for Education Futures at the American Council on Education (ACE), where he led initiatives involving hundreds of colleges and universities, dozens of industry partners, and millions of learners. He previously held a tenured faculty position at Arizona State University, where he played a key role in advancing the university’s public enterprise model.

Dr. Anderson’s research explores public management, organizational design, governance of emerging technologies, and the future of higher education. He has advised federal agencies, state legislators, foundations, and universities across the U.S. and globally. His work has been supported by major funders, including the Gates Foundation, NSF, Lilly Endowment, and USAID, generating more than $100 million in impact since 2017.

Dr. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from the University of Georgia, as well as a B.S. and an M.P.P. from Arizona State University.

Spring Panel: Retention and Completion
Shaping Our Destiny Through Intentional Efforts

Speaker: A. Jackson Harris, Ph.D.

Director of the Civic Learning Lab at The University of Alabama's Crossroads Civic Engagement Center

→ Panel Agenda:

#1: Welcome, Overview of Data & Goals For Fall: 

Dr. Jessica Oyler
Vice President of Student Access & Success

#2: Current Initiatives: 

Leslie Park
Director of Strategic Initiatives for Student Access & Success

#3: What We’re Hearing From Students: 

Heather Chapman
Student Success Analytics 

Aimee Golden
Advisor for College of Engineering Applied Science and Technology and University Academic Advising Council (UAAC) Co-Chair

#4: Faculty Perspective & What We Can Do In The Classroom: 

Jason Francis
Faculty Senate Chair, Associate Professor and Health Science Librarian

#5: Concluding Thoughts & Call To Action: 

Dr. Jessica Oyler
Vice President of Student Access & Success

WSU Keynote Address & Breakouts

Speaker: Dr. Richard Detweiler

Richard Detweiler, author of The Evidence Liberal Arts Needs: Lives of Consequence, Inquiry, and Accomplishment, makes a strong case for the importance of a liberal arts general education. Please join us for a Promoting Student Success Speaker Series keynote with a discussion following about why general education affects people positively for their entire lifetime so that we are better prepared for conversations about why higher education matters.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Richard A. Detweiler (Rick) is a social psychologist specializing in intercultural relations, and earned his MA and PhD from Princeton University. 

With years of experience as a college president, professor, and consultant, he also holds an appointment as foundation fellow at Oxford's Harris Manchester College and is President Emeritus of New York's Hartwick College and of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. Previously he was a distinguished fellow at the Council on Library and Information Resources in Washington, DC, and professor of psychology at two different liberal arts universities.

He is the founder of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (a coalition of 30 universities from 16 countries that works to strengthen learning in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences) and recently completed a nearly 14 year presidency of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (a consortium of selective liberal arts colleges and universities). Professionally he has been an active researcher, consultant, and author in higher education, technology initiatives in higher education, institutional planning and research, intercultural relations, international education, and psychology. He has published dozens of articles related to higher education, psychology, and intercultural relations, and speaks frequently on issues related to the future of higher education, the role of technology in education, and the values of the liberal arts and sciences. He was a founding dean of the Frye Leadership Institute, the recipient of a Carnegie Mellon University/AMS Award for leadership in the innovative use of computer and communications technology, and has served as a board member of a number of higher education organizations.

His book reporting on the character, method, and impact of liberal arts education, The Evidence Liberal Arts Needs: Lives of Consequence, Inquiry, and Accomplishment was published by The MIT Press in 2021.

WSU Back to School Keynote Address & Workshop

Speaker: Paul Tough

Paul Tough is the author, most recently, of The Inequality Machine: How College Divides Us (previously titled The Years That Matter Most). His three previous books include How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, which was translated into 27 languages and spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback best-seller lists.

Paul is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine; his writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, GQ, and Esquire, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. He is a speaker on topics including education, parenting, equity, and student success.  He has worked as an editor at the New York Times Magazine and Harper’s Magazine and as a reporter and producer for the public-radio program “This American Life.” He was the founding editor of Open Letters, an online magazine. He lives with his wife and two sons in Austin, Texas.

paultough.com

Imagining Polarized Publics (and Our Role With Them)

Speaker: A. Jackson Harris, Ph.D.

Director of the Civic Learning Lab at The University of Alabama's Crossroads Civic Engagement Center

Keynote Address

What does it mean for an entire public to be polarized? Are we able to imagine the problem? Are we able to envision our place within it? In this keynote address, Dr. A. Jackson Harris (University of Alabama) explores these urgent questions and introduces an emergent theory of structurally dynamic public spheres. By imagining how publics transform with greater and lesser degrees of polarization, students and educators alike are able to visualize the relational effects of toxic polarization and, more importantly, understand the need for civic skills, dialogue, and cross-cutting relationships.

Workshop: Fostering a Civic Development Ecology on Campus and Beyond

There is a recognized mission in higher education to develop graduates who are inspired and equipped to contribute to a thriving democratic society. Our tendency, however, is to view student civic development as a linear process, and one which occurs only in the classroom or in the traditional co-curricular world of student programming. This mindset risks excluding nontraditional students, at a minimum, and limiting the potential civic learning of all. Drawing on the theories of Campus Ecology (Banning & Kaiser, 1974) and Developmental Ecology (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 2005), this workshop explores an ecological model for student civic development. This ecological perspective underscores the importance of being more intentional about the ways we work together to prepare students for civic leadership in their communities and democracy. Likewise, it encourages educators and administrators to tap into the near-infinite opportunities for implementing the co-creative strategies necessary to the development of civic values, knowledge, skills, and actions in today’s student populations.

 

Dr. A. Jackson Harris is a writer, speaker, and public educator. Jackson serves as Director of the Civic Learning Lab at The University of Alabama's Crossroads Civic Engagement Center. His primary responsibilities in this role include the implementation of democratic learning programs, curriculum development and delivery, and consultation on dialogue-based courses and programming. To his work, he brings over a decade of workshop facilitation experience and leadership training.

Jackson's professional background includes leading roles in national non-profit organizations: Southern Region Vice President of the National FFA Organization and Regional Director of the National Wild Turkey Federation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Development, a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies with a focus in Rhetoric and Political Discourse, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Information Sciences. His scholarship has been focused on the polarization of public spheres and educating for democracy.

College Belonging for Students

Speaker: Lisa Nunn

Director of the Center for Educational Excellence, Professor of Sociology, University of San Diego

Keynote Address

What are colleges getting wrong about fostering a sense of belonging for students? How do students' many identities shape their experiences, their particular hurdles and challenges around belonging? Belonging is more than making friends and joining orgs. Understanding how belonging happens in the classroom (academic belonging) and how it happens in the campus culture (campus-community belonging) allows us to recognize the important role we play in offering belonging to our students rather than expecting them to go and find it for themselves. Join us to learn more about how the dynamics of belonging work and everyday strategies we can employ to build a stronger academic community for our students and ourselves.

Fostering Academic Belonging: Practical Strategies for Faculty

What are the signs that students feel that they belong academically in college? They describe it as feeling competent; confident enough to raise their hand in class or talk to their professors one-on-one; and comfortable enough to study with peers. What can faculty do to foster academic belonging in our students? Come and find out! By making small shifts in our everyday interactions with students we can make a big difference in their college success.

 

Lisa Nunn is the director of the Center for Educational Excellence and a professor of sociology at the University of San Diego. Nunn cares deeply about sense of belonging in the USD campus community. First-generation college students and first-year students are at the center of her interest in belonging, and faculty’s sense of belonging is at the center of the work she does in her role as director of the Center for Educational Excellence.

Nunn’s scholarship centers on students’ experiences, students’ identities, and students’ overall success and wellbeing. Her most recent book, College Belonging, follows first-year college students for two years to see how they navigate their new campus homes and what kinds of obstacles they face to developing a sense of belonging there. As a sociologist, she looks closely at communities and how they function. As a cultural sociologist and an organizations scholar, Nunn approaches research questions about student belonging by looking at what each university is doing with its policies, offerings and structures that foster a particular campus culture at each school. She also systematically interviews students to see what campus feels like to them, from their eyes, walking in their shoes. In doing so, she has been able to outline ways that small changes in teaching and in everyday interactions with students can make a big difference in their lives.

Taking Ownership of Your Learning and Making it Your Job is the First Step in College Success

Speaker: Jonathan Grant Brown

Workshop — Becoming an Interruption: The Journey from a Path of Destruction to a Path of Success

Student Motivation: Cultivating Positive Learning Environments Part 1

Motivation matters; it is a precursor to student engagement. Frequently, educators lament about “how to motivate students to care about their thinking.” While the literature is overrun with deficit thinking about students, their families, culture, socioeconomic background, and communities, this professional learning module provides a foundation for educators to reflect about how deficit thinking often permeates how we think about students and offers alternative practices in order to create positive learning environments. Grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy, this module assists participants to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship culture and the motivation to learn through diverse counterbeliefs and values that students and educators bring to a learning environment. Part 1 shares Ginsberg’s and Wlodkowski’s Framework for Student Motivation which includes: 1) establishing inclusion; 2) developing attitude; 3) enhancing meaning and 4.) engendering competence. Part one also offers tools for educators in how to facilitate discussions.

Beyond Financial Aid: How Addressing Students' Basic Needs Can Support Student Success

Speaker: Priyadarshini Chaplot

An increasing number of students are juggling work, family, and education as they try to secure a career path with a living wage for themselves and their families. Add to the mix that tuition rates are rising faster than student aid can keep up and the reality is that larger numbers of students are experiencing larger amounts of unmet financial need. This need includes reliable and adequate access to nutrition, housing, childcare, transportation, and health care. To attend to these realities, many students balance decisions (e.g., work more, take fewer courses, borrow more, stop out, drop out) that can threaten their academic progress and success. Institutions that have intentionally and structurally mitigated these concerns have seen more students staying and completing their educational goals.

The keynote session will (1) provide a clear framework of four research-based strategies to strengthen students' financial stability and (2) share promising institutional examples from around the country.

Workshop: Beyond Financial Aid Self-Assessment

In this workshop, you will have a hands-on opportunity to roll up your sleeves and engage with a self-assessment tool that can help you clarify student needs, take stock of and organize your existing efforts, and identify opportunities to redesign practices and policies that can more holistically support Weber State students to success.

The Current State of Student Engagement: What Educators Can Do to Promote Positive Learning Outcomes for All Students

Speaker: Jillian Kinzie

The need to enhance student engagement in educational practices that matter for learning is a critical priority for increasing student success. Even more, colleges and universities must ensure practices and programs support students’ equitable progress towards achieving a high-quality 21st-century degree. This keynote will provide an overview of the state of student engagement in today’s learning quality and equity paradigm, focus on activities positively associated with student persistence, essential learning outcomes and workplace outcomes, feature Weber State’s recent results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to contextualize discussion, and highlight what campus leaders and educators can do to enhance the conditions for student learning and success.

Workshop: Incorporating High Impact Educational Experiences (HIEE) Inside and Outside the Classroom

Students get more deeply engaged in their education when they have hands-on opportunity for learning. When done well, participating in a high-impact practice (HIP), or in Weber State’s terminology, an HIEE, should provide students a developmentally powerful experience, replete with opportunities to apply, reflect and integrate what one is learning. While research shows participation in HIPs benefits all students, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, not all students participate. Even more, HIPs can vary in quality and may lack the curricular integration that facilitates a collective impact on student learning and success. This workshop will offer additional evidence about what makes HIPs effective and feature strategies for ensuring more students can take part. Participants will consider Weber’s HIEE “impact strategies” and taxonomy, and other lessons learned, and apply principles of assignment design, including clarity of purpose, task and criteria, to expand the delivery and enhance the effectiveness of high impact practices.

Mary-Ann Winkelmes' Workshops

Read Mary-Ann Winkelmes' Bio

 

Part 1: Transparency and Its Impact on Learning

Transparent teaching/learning practices make learning processes explicit while offering opportunities to foster students' metacognition, confidence, and sense of belonging in college in order to promote student success equitably. A 2016 AAC&U study (Winkelmes et al.) identifies transparent assignment design as a replicable teaching intervention that significantly enhances students' success, with greater gains by historically underserved students. This session reviews the study’s findings and foundational research, and it examines some sample assignments. Dr. Winkelmes invites participants to respond to this 2-question survey about student's learning by August 8.

Part 2: A Workshop for Designing Transparent Assignments

In this session, Dr. Winkelmes will walk participants through the process of designing/revising assignments (in small work groups) to make them more transparent, relevant, and accessible for students. Participants will leave with a draft assignment or activity for one of their courses or co-curricular educational experiences and a concise set of strategies for designing transparent assignments that promote students’ learning equitably. It is not necessary to bring an existing assignment to this session. It is helpful but not necessary to attend the prior session.

Joining a TILT SoTL Project: An informal Conversation

Dr. Winkelmes and Colleen Packer invite interested participants to consider a transparency-focused scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project that explores the impact of transparent instruction on Weber State students and faculty. Participants will discuss how to use TILT Higher Ed surveys, and how their own reflections might contribute to a publishable study.

The Unwritten Rules of College: How Transparent Instruction Supports Student Success Equitably

Transparent teaching/learning practices make learning processes explicit while offering opportunities to foster students' metacognition, confidence, and sense of belonging in college in order to promote student success equitably. A 2016 AAC&U study (Winkelmes et al.) identifies transparent assignment design as a replicable teaching intervention that significantly enhances students' success, with greater gains by historically underserved students. This session 1) reviews the study’s findings and foundational research, 2) examines some sample assignments, 3) walks participants through the process of designing/revising assignments (in small work groups) to make them more transparent, relevant, and accessible for students. Participants will leave with a draft assignment or activity for one of their courses or co-curricular educational experiences and a concise set of strategies for designing transparent assignments that promote students’ learning equitably. It is not necessary to bring an existing assignment to this session.

You See Me: Cultivating Inclusion to Foster Student Motivation

Speaker: Yvonne Ortiz

A precursor to student engagement, motivation matters. Frequently, educators lament about “how to motivate students to care about their learning.” While the literature is overrun with deficit thinking about students, their families, culture, socioeconomic background, and communities, we will learn a framework for educators to reflect about how deficit thinking often permeates how we think about students and identify alternative practices to create positive learning environments.

Building Community and Student Rapport through High Engagement Strategies

Speaker: Jim Donohue

Since 2007, Jim Donohue has consulted at colleges and universities around the United States concentrating on student engagement and success initiatives. His passion for education stems from his belief that education is one of the only ways to change personal history. The large number of students whose dreams are deferred or lost all together when they find themselves unable to negotiate the transition to college and university campuses saddens him. He believes that by working collaboratively with students, campus educators and leadership it will be possible to enrich the lives of students and educators alike.

Workshop: High Engagement and Inquiry Strategies in Math

Teach Like a Puma

Speaker: Todd Zakrajsek

Todd is a faculty developer and college associate professor just trying to get students more interested in learning. His presentation, "Teach Like a Puma," focuses on the faculty's role in promoting student success in the classroom.