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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.