At the Board meeting in January, we had a chance to review the plans for the UCEA Annual Conference, to be held in Boston the first week of April. Karen Sibley and her committee have done an outstanding job in planning a strong, rich, and diverse set of presentations and workshops. The overall theme of the conference is Transcending Boundaries, with the following seven conference tracks:
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT—Transcending University/Community Boundaries
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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT—Collaborating to Build a Competitive Workforce
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EDUCATION IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD—Promoting Globally Competent Citizens
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CHANGING CURRICULA—Blending Programs and Services in a Hybrid Environment
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ACCOUNTABILITY—Advancing Quality Assurance and Improvement
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INNOVATION—Reaping the Benefits of a More Connected World
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MARKETING INTELLIGENCE—Keeping in Touch with Changing Student Needs
There is an unusually attractive group of pre-conference opportunities: on strategic leadership in difficult times, on the latest in online pedagogy, on the global financial crisis and its implications for international education, on assessment and accountability, and on the new urgency of liberal arts education for adult students. And, as ever, we will have first-rate keynote speakers: Adil Najam, a widely influential professor of global public policy from Boston University; John Maeda, designer, artist, computer scientist and the new president of the Rhode Island School of Design; and Diana Oblinger, president and CEO of EDUCAUSE.
And further, the planning committee has pressed all presenters to update their proposals and sessions to reflect, as appropriate, the dramatic changes in the economy and government that we have witnessed this fall.
Every one of us has of course been affected. The Association is taking a couple of initiatives to conserve UCEA resources and those of member institutions: we saved postage by mailing a bare bones preliminary program brochure instead of the customary unabridged preliminary program (see the updated program information on the UCEA website); we are adding the 2009-2010 commissioners’ summer meeting to the end of the Boston conference this one year in order to conserve hard-pressed travel budgets—and we’ll be making even more use of blogs, etc., on UCEACONNECT.
These are, as the Chinese proverb has it, "interesting times"—or as Samuel Johnson once said, "If a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates the mind wonderfully." None of us, I hope, is in danger of being hanged—but more is now expected of every one of us than ever before. I really do think that this is the most focused, most "can’t-miss" conference UCEA has presented in some time, and I very much hope to see many of you in Boston.
Sincerely,
Robert Wiltenburg
UCEA President
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