Preconference Workshops
The Leadership in Higher Education Online Conference offers four preconference workshops. The cost is $299 per workshop. The workshops will be held live online at the listed times below prior to the start of the online conference.
Enrollment is offered during conference registration.
If you have already registered for the conference and would like to add a workshop to your registration, call 608-246-3590 to enroll.
Friday, January 24, 2025 - 10:00 AM—12:30 PM CT
Leading Change in the New (Ab)normal
Jeffrey L. Buller, ALPHA Leadership Training
The world of higher education strikes many academic leaders as different now from what it was prior to the COVID pandemic. Some members of the faculty and staff see it as their inalienable right to work from home as much as they wish. Students sometimes expect the program adjustments made during the pandemic to continue even after the reasons for those adjustments have passed. Legislatures are demanding more and more data that our programs are “worth their cost.” And other aspects of the academic world have changed as well. Many of our campuses are divided by toxic polarization. Free speech and academic freedom are being widely challenged. The frequency of campus shootings in the United States has increased many students’ levels of anxiety and fear. Programs in diversity, equity, and inclusion are at times being shut down. We find ourselves working in an environment where we’re simultaneously buffeted by the speed of change all around us and struggling to lead desirable changes ourselves. How do academic leaders flourish in such an environment? For many years, the leading mechanism that colleges and universities have used to bring about significant changes on their campuses has been strategic planning. But is strategic planning still the best way for us to move our programs and institutions forward? In this workshop, we’ll explore the nature of change in higher education today and examine several proven ways in which academic leaders can become more effective in handling the changes imposed upon them while leading the types of change they believe their programs need.
Jeffrey L. Buller, PhD, is widely recognized as one of the most effective promoters of academic leadership development in higher education. He is the president and CEO of ALPHA Leadership Training. Previously, he served as the director of Leadership and Professional Development and dean of the Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University. Buller has more than 35 years of academic leadership experience in positions ranging from department chair to vice president for academic affairs at Loras College, Georgia Southern University, and Mary Baldwin College, in addition to Florida Atlantic. Buller is the author of 26 books on higher education and academic leadership, and more than 200 articles, essays, and reviews.
Monday, January 27, 2025 - 9:30 AM—12:00 PM CT
Navigating the Possibilities, Policies, and Pitfalls of Generative AI
Oliver Dreon and Jennifer Shettel, Millersville University
This workshop will examine the power and possibilities of Generative AI (GenAI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tools that offer responses to prompts. While GenAI is viewed by some as being disruptive within the educational landscape, it can also offer new opportunities for engaging and empowering students in the learning process. Beyond strategies and considerations for incorporating this emerging technology in collegiate classrooms, the workshop will also discuss how university policies and processes need to respond to account for this emergent technology.
Oliver Dreon, PhD, is a professor of educational foundations at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. From 2013–2020, Dreon served as the director of the Center for Academic Excellence. He is the co-author of the book Authentic Instruction with Technology: A Student-Centered Approach, the co-editor of the book, Teacher Education for Ethical Professional Practices in the 21st Century, and co-author of The Power of Blended Learning in the Sciences. Dreon has spent nearly 30 years teaching in various educational environments and provides regular professional development and consultation on online and blended learning. His work examines how technology can be used to support student development through physical, online, and hybrid learning spaces.
Jennifer Shettel, EdD, is a professor in literacy education and chair of the Department of Early, Middle, & Exceptional Education, Millersville University. Shettel is an active member of the International Literacy Association (ILA) and the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE). Prior to joining the faculty at Millersville in 2008, Shettel spent 16 years in K–12 public education, as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and literacy coach. Shettel’s research interests includes expanding the understanding of developmental reading as well as the intersection of literacy and technology.
Monday, January 27, 2025 - 12:30—3:00 PM CT
Leadership Bootcamp: Developing Academic Leadership Skills in Higher Education
Sara Zeigler and Russell Carpenter, Eastern Kentucky University
This preconference workshop focuses on developing academic leadership skills. Academic leaders are often asked to take on roles, tasks, or projects with little or no formal (or even informal) training or preparation in this area. Being an academic leader can be challenging without intentional approaches, skill development, periodic assessment, self-assessment, and intentional reflection. Many academic leaders are expected to lead, guide, and mentor full-time staff members, tenure-track faculty, tenured faculty, or committees of a variety of configurations. Based on years of higher education academic experience as faculty members and university leaders, the facilitators will guide participants through a multi-step process of leadership skill development and strategies that prioritize practical approaches participants can readily apply and transfer to their own contexts. Participants will:
- Examine current higher education leadership needs and priorities in light of challenges and trends;
- Define and navigate professional relationships and boundaries (e.g., mentoring, coaching, and supervising);
- Prioritize leadership decision making;
- Explore approaches for expanding leadership skills in higher education scenarios;
- Discuss leadership scenarios and potential outcomes;
- Identify leadership strategies and skills; and
- Develop a leadership action plan for use across a variety of academic contexts.
Sara Zeigler, PhD, serves as provost and professor of political science at Eastern Kentucky University. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Political Science, Feminist Formations, and the Journal of Political Science Education, among others. Zeigler earned her BA at Reed College and her MA and PhD at UCLA, all in political science. Zeigler’s research focuses on gender politics and equality jurisprudence. With Russell Carpenter, she is the co-founder of the EKU Provost’s Leadership Institute and Provost’s Faculty Internship Program.
Russell Carpenter, PhD, is assistant provost and professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University. Carpenter serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Faculty Development. Carpenter has written or edited a wide range of books, including Engaging Millennial Faculty, Studio-Based Approaches for Multimodal Projects, Writing Studio Pedagogy, and Sustainable Learning Spaces. With Sara Zeigler, he is the co-founder of the EKU Provost’s Faculty Leadership Institute and Provost’s Faculty Internship Program.