A message from the Michael Preston, Ed. D., Executive Director of the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities
The Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities has spent the last few years coordinating an annual gathering to bring together administrators, student success thought leaders, and faculty from Florida International University, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida.
In 2017, we featured an inspiring keynote from Paul J. Luna, President and CEO of the Helios Education Foundation along with a wide variety of plenary sessions and networking opportunities. Once we wrapped our 2017 event we reviewed feedback from conference attendees and began discussing what we could do to raise the bar in 2018 and beyond. At the same time; our longtime lead collaborator Paul Dosal, Vice President of Student Affairs and Students Success at University of South Florida was having a similar discussion with his team. Much of what we do at the Florida Consortium is about partnering to uncover and advance ideas that drive student success. So in partnership with USF, we’re excited to announce the National Student Success Conference: Innovators and Innovations.
The National Student Success Conference will take place February 21-23, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. And it gets better, we’re thrilled to announce George D. Kuh, the Founding Director, Senior Scholar and Co-principal Investigator at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment is set to deliver an informative keynote presentation during the inaugural conference! Dr. Dan Greenstein of the Gates Foundation was just added to the program and will serve as our second main stage keynote presenter. Dr. Greenstein is the director of Education, Postsecondary Success. He oversees work focussed on increasing the number of students who acquire a postsecondary degree or certificate. Also noteworthy, Paul Luna, President and CEO of Helios Education Foundation will moderate the Central Florida Education Ecosystem panel. It goes without saying, conference attendees are in for a treat.
We know that professional development and training budgets are tight and that many of you typically travel across the nation in order to learn from the best and the brightest. In 2018, we have you covered and will fill this need with the National Student Success Conference. The conference will be interactive and will provide a bird’s eye view of big ideas along with tangible initiatives designed to move the needle. Attendees should also expect fun activities and networking.
Faculty and administrators just starting out as well as seasoned higher education professionals, students, and industry leaders are invited to join us. We will provide additional announcements in the coming weeks. But in the meantime, mark your calendar and make plans to join us.
Michael Preston, Ed. D
Executive Director
Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities