2026 Student Life Professional Development Conference View Other Sessions

Join us for the 2026 Student Life Professional Development Conference - Anchored in Purpose: Evolving Work, Steadfast Mission! This conference is dedicated to recentering ourselves in the midst of increasing change in complexity at work, enabling future opportunities for us and our students, growing our community to meet the ever evolving needs of higher education, and expanding our reach to ensure maximum impact. Participants will engage in dynamic discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities aimed at creating a resilient, equitable, and inclusive future.

Our Pre-Conference (Monday, January 26, 2026) includes half or full day Sessions and Workshops. The Conference Day (Tuesday, January 27, 2026) includes 50 Minute Breakout Sessions, Lunch, and 75 Minute Extended Sessions in the afternoon.

This year's conference encompasses four focus areas:

  • Strengthening Our Roots: Professional skill building (core skills, best practices)

  • Growing Our Community: Networking, collaboration, and building inclusive spaces

  • Anchored in Purpose: Leadership, mission-driven work, and ethical decision making

  • Expanding Our Reach: Innovative approaches, emerging student needs, and new programs

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: January 9, 2026.

There is a $25 charge for Student Life staff and graduate students to attend the conference and a $50 charge for non Student Life staff per day.



Emergent Strategies for Student Support

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Zoom
Livestream Available (Visible After Registration)
Anna Wagner - University Career Center

In this interactive workshop, the presenter will share her research for applying community organizer, author, facilitator, and activist Adrienne Maree Brown's Emergent Strategy (2017) as a theoretical framework for creating more liberatory learning spaces for students. We will review the tenants of Emergent Strategy, critically considering our own personal relationship to our work ethos. We will consider practical applications of the tenants of Emergent Strategy to drive innovative and humanistic approaches to student support. This session will be highly interactive, incorporating both time for individual reflection, significant levels of discussion, and activities for applying brown's work to participants' own spheres of influence. Participants will be asked specifically to reflect on their approach to student learning and growth through their daily work. As Brown says, "There is a conversation in the room that only these people at this moment can have. Find it." So, come find it together!

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