Jim Shelton – former Deputy Secretary of Education under President Obama and current Chief Impact and Investment Officer at Blue Meridian partners – will kick off the Virtual NAASS Summit on November 8, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Central Time as our keynote speaker. 

Learn vital leadership lessons, understand key trends in higher education and discover tools that you can apply directly to your role as a summer and special sessions administrator from a dynamic speaker and innovator. 

Presenters:

• John Gipson, Ph.D., Director of Summer Session and Courtesy Faculty Appointment in Educational Psychology and Research Methodology, Purdue University 
• Erin Salius, Ph.D., Assistant Dean and Director, Boston University Summer Term

The pandemic changed just about everything with regard to how we run undergraduate programs in the summer. We had to adapt and get comfortable with uncertainty – and so did our stakeholders. Now, as we prepare for the return to “normal” operations in 2022, this session considers the various ways our response to COVID-19 continues to impact our planning for summer programs going forward. In both large-group and small-group conversations, attendees will have the opportunity to discuss what the “new normal” looks like for their undergraduate programs. Specific topics include: expectation setting; course development and planning; forecasting enrollment; and communicating/marketing to students.

Presenters: 

• Hai Truong, Marketing Manager, Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, University of California, Irvine
• Christopher Cofer, Executive Director, Office of Pre-College Programs, College of Professional Studies, Syracuse University

The COVID pandemic impacted not only how we delivered our summer programs over the past two years, but also our approaches to marketing strategy and implementation. In this session, we will unpack alongside higher education colleagues across the country what we did before, during, and post-COVID from a marketing and recruitment perspective to better understand how COVID affected both the trajectory and pace of change in this space. Attendees will be provided with prompts and questions to frame conversations among peers to exchange ideas, best practices, and lessons learned. Deliverables following this session include notes, examples, and references provided by peers attending this session.

Presenters: 

• Eli J. Lesser, Executive Director, Wharton Global Youth Program, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 
• Maureen Saraco, Senior Associate Director, Summer and Pre-College Programs, Temple University

We understand that COVID was a difficult time! So much was learned and so much changed, as many high school students were denied access to our campuses and to our amazing programs. COVID-19 forced many pre-college program directors to make radical changes to how programs for high school students were developed and delivered. Now, many of us may be moving towards a new normal, and considering how to incorporate what we learned from running pre-college during a pandemic into what we do in the future. Is a return to business as usual really what we want as we think about what comes next? Join us to collaboratively create a shared set of notes and recommendations that attendees will have access to as a tool to program in the post-COVID world.

Presenters: 

• Allyson Morris, Director of Summer Sessions, Santa Clara University
• David Lee, Ph.D., MBA, Assistant Vice President, Office of the Provost, Southern Methodist University

Leadership has perhaps never been so important as it is in the new dynamism of the academy. As leaders and members of teams, we are facing changes that many of us have never seen before. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences from the past two years. The goal is for participants to leave the session with greater insights into how anyone can lead in times of change. Discussions will be framed around several facets of leadership, including leadership by example, managing people and situations out of your control, supporting your teams, and reflecting on your own process for self-management.

Presenters: 

• Lowell K. Davis, Ph.D., Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Chris Pevey Harry, Assistant Dean and Director Of Badger Precollege, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Continuing Studies

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be embedded in our day-to-day work as we prepare our students, staff, and faculty to thrive personally and professionally in a diverse world, interconnected, enhancing the campus climate for inclusion. Join us for a discussion on DEI, which will begin with exploring key terms used in this field. Personal reflections will follow in small groups where you discover and discuss “How comfortable are you?” in your department/team/institution engaging in DEI work. You will hear how other summer and pre-college professionals have implemented DEI initiatives into their programs and be given the opportunity to talk about what you have done. Come ready to share and leave with one or two ideas to carry back to your summer sessions.

Each main session will provide an opportunity to dive deeper and connect with colleagues through 40-45 minute breakout sessions. 

Breakout sessions will focus on sub-topics such as protection of minor policies in summer programming, planning for winter and special sessions, the higher education landscape post-COVID and more. 

Summit will conclude with a closing presentation from Josephine “Joey” Volpe, Assistant Vice Provost for Advising Development at the University of Illinois Chicago. The discussion will feature topics on leadership and professional development within higher education.

For the 2021 Virtual Summit, NAASS members submitted a ‘One Cool Thing’ – a special initiative or project that they rolled out to promote summer and special sessions at their institutions. 

Each submission will be featured at the Virtual Summit (during the Wed., Nov. 10 session from 1 – 2 p.m. Eastern), and will be showcased on NAASS social media in the coming weeks. Click here to see what NAASS members submitted as their institution’s ‘One Cool Thing.’