Student Life Conference Spotlights

Mid-Senior Level professionals are defined as those with 15+ years of experience (typically much more) that are not a VP/AVP and are generally content in the mid-senior level role. They may or may not have or want a doctoral degree. They are "seasoned but not overdone". This session explored engagement of this group and maximizing the utilization of their knowledge, skills, and history. Come learn how this connects with other Organizational Development work and how to support these folks in the middle of organizations. 

The presentation will focus on work done on behalf of National Association of College & University Food Service (NACUFS) by the FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality to inform the future of college & university food service. Learnings will talk about how the future of foodservice in the C&U space is tied to the future of higher education and is well positioned to counter the seven disruptions impacting the future of education. 

We will share research-based recommendations for supporting U-M student parents based on the presentations we will attend at the Ohio State Student Parent Symposium as well as our own presentation content. We will especially focus on content that reinforces our own findings. Our goal is to improve the experiences of U-M student parents.

Learn about yourself, your work, and your staff with creative ways to ask and answer questions. I will share techniques I learned from the ICQI: International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry including (1) Arts-based research (photovoice, mindful art journaling, and poeticising results), (2) mixed methods (quant and qual together!), (3) AI-driven analysis, and (4) physical embodiment of data as a way to understand it more deeply. I focus on pushing the boundaries of qualitative research, explore new and sometimes messy ways to ask and answer questions, and discuss how to learn about ourselves, our staff, and our work through untraditional qualitative methods. If you are completely new to qualitative research, you can come to learn ways to bring this into your work and if you are familiar with it, you can come to learn new qualitative methodologies!

Community Circles are a dialog process that works intentionally to create a safe space to discuss difficult issues in order to improve relationships, resolve differences, or provide support. The process is based on an assumption of equal worth and dignity for all participants and therefore provides equal voice to all participants. Join us for a Community Circle where participants can reflect upon the academic year and set intentions for the next. Space is limited to 25 participants.

Many students are looking at the climate crisis with distress and grappling with the question “what can I do?” So are many higher education professionals. Climate Wayfinding is a proven program for holding that question well and gaining clarity, courage, and community for our climate journeys. Clara was recently trained by Dr. Katharine Wilkinson of The All We Can Save Project (AWCSP) in delivering this training for students and staff alike. Learn more AWCSP's approach, which invites participants to (1) look inward at their climate emotions, values, and “superpowers” (2) look outward at climate solutions, accelerators, and community in UM's unique context and (3) look forward to create a personalized “climate compass” and plan. 

From the Association for Talent Development, the leading organization for all things learning and development, join us as we unpack learnings from corporate, non-profit, and higher ed leaders as they navigate the employee experience. Specifically, learn about 10 brain boosters to prevent boring learning, how we can develop accountable employees, a simple but effective strategy in onboarding to accelerate belonging and drive results and much more! 

The overall results from the 2023 MHealthy questionnaire will be presented. Additional health and wellness results will be reviewed with a special focus on social determinants of health and mental and emotional health. The presentation will inform the student life staff division priorities of: 1) Health and Well-being with a focus on Policies, Systems, and Structures, 2) DEI 2.0, embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the core of our People, Processes, and Product and 3) Enhance Staff Recruitment and Retention efforts. 

Change constantly seems to choose us, and rarely at the most convenient time! Whether personally or professionally, individually or collectively, we all experience change. How do we take ownership of this phenomenon and leverage it to our benefit? This session is based on Kotter's 8 Step Process for Leading Change and was facilitated at a national conference in 2024 by Mr. Sheldon Tate, Executive Director of Recreation at George Mason University. Attendees will learn four steps to successful change, and have time throughout the session to plan for a transition in their work or home lives. Please attend, and leave not just better prepared to engage in change effectively, but also better equipped to guide others along the way. 

The National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) is an annual conference that constitutes the most comprehensive national form on issues of race and ethnicity in higher education. A focus of the conference is creating and sustaining institutional change. Join us for a high level overview of takeaways from NCORE as a white attendee and how they have influenced work over the past year.

The University of Michigan established the Common Agenda for Well-being in April of 2024. The Common Agenda Is a vision for change that includes a common understanding of the current state of this work and a community centered approach. Join us to hear from the Well-being Collective Lead, learning about the Common Agenda, and begin identifying ways you can incorporate this information into your Unit's work.