This summit has been specifically designed for Provosts and other Chief Academic Officers. If you are seeking an opportunity to step away from day-to-day managerial tasks, to think “bigger picture” about innovation and growth for your institution, and to develop your own leadership, this conference is for you.

Your registration fee includes full access to all conference sessions and materials, breakfast, lunch, and access to the networking reception on Thursday, breakfast and lunch on Friday, as well as refreshments and snacks throughout the conference.
DAY ONE: Thursday, September 26, 2024
8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. MT (local time in Denver, CO)

Registration and Breakfast
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. MT

Welcome and Introductions
9:00 – 9:15 a.m. MT

Building Connections with Lego Serious Play: An Experiential Process for Reflective Dialogue
9:15 – 10:00 a.m. MT
Lego Serious Play is an experiential process designed for use with adults to prompt dialogue and encourage reflection. To help you to get creative and expand your mindset using the approachable medium of play, our facilitator will lead you through a series of structured exercises to kick off the conference.

Morning Break
10:00 – 10:15 a.m. MT

Building your Anticipatory and Strategic Thinking Capacity
10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MT
The world of higher education has changed fundamentally over the last few years and will likely continue to evolve and transform in new and unexpected ways. In this interactive session, we’ll explore the issues that will impact higher ed over the next decade, and we’ll explore practical strategies to build and practice this anticipatory mindset. We’ll also do some sense-making—given these issues, how can provosts take a proactive stance to seek opportunities within an increasingly complex and challenged landscape?

Lunch
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. MT

Embracing Complexity: Strategies to Thrive in a Competing Objective Land
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. MT
Often, leaders are faced with competing objectives—reducing costs but increasing outcomes; increasing workload and maintaining morale, etc. In this session, we’ll identify three themes that become relevant when dealing with complexity: simplification, balancing internal and external pressures, and energy management. We’ll also introduce a four-step model that can help you to embrace complexity.

Break
2:30 – 2:45 p.m. MT

Innovating for the Future of Work
2:45 – 4:00 p.m. MT
This case study from Illinois Institute of Technology will illustrate an example of how the university leadership is preparing the campus and community for the future of work.

Innovation Garage
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. MT
Meet us in the Innovation Garage, a cutting-edge hub where you can explore and experiment with the latest educational technologies. We have convened a collection of educational technology startups* who have designed and implemented solutions around enrollment, retention, building strong student/alumni community relations, program development, and program review. Each company will provide a brief presentation and share case studies of partner universities who have implemented their solutions. This is your chance to peek into the forefront of the rapidly evolving educational technology landscape.

*Participants will receive information on each company participating before the conference.

Networking Reception (included in registration fee)
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. MT
This informal reception is your chance to decompress, have some refreshments on us, and expand your network of connections. Our programs are intentionally designed for smaller groups, so this is a great time to catch up with attendees and speakers whom you may not have connected with yet.

DAY TWO: Friday, September 27, 2024
8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT (local time in Denver, CO)
Registration and Breakfast
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. MT

Leading Change through Collaboration
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. MT
This session will explore the benefits of collaborative leadership and how it can be used to enhance decision-making, problem-solving, and innovation. Specifically, we’ll explore the role of collaborative leadership in leading change, building effective communication, and strengthening trust and teamwork.

Morning Break
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. MT

Shifting Mindsets through Leadership Development
10:45 – 12:00 p.m. MT
This session will introduce participants to a case study from Vincennes University. You will learn about various ways to invest in leadership development at all levels (Faculty, Chair, Dean, etc.) and the impact this investment has on organizational culture.

Lunch
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. MT

Provosts: This is Your Leadership Moment
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. MT
This session will explore 10 strategies to help Provosts to stop acting as Chief Operating Officer and to reclaim their role as chief academic officer. The first three strategies focus on the Provost’s own leadership, the second three speak to the importance of building the capacities of others, and the final four speak to the Provost’s leadership of the institution itself.

Closing Achievement and Equity Gaps through Innovative Approaches
2:30 – 3:00 p.m. MT
In this session, you will hear an example of how National Louis University has innovated its academic and student experience model to improve student outcomes. You will hear firsthand about the innovative processes that National Louis employs to close equity gaps and to foster economic stability and mobility for low-income and marginalized student populations.

The training will be conducted in person at Academic Impressions’ Denver-based office at:

5299 DTC Blvd, Suite 1400, Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Nearby hotel suggestions:

Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center – 3-star hotel

8300 E Crescent Pkwy, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-804-0700
Distance from office: 0.5 miles if driving, 0.3 miles if walking

A room rate of $154/night is available if you book your room using this link.

This reduced rate and room availability are subject to general hotel availability and not guaranteed. So, we recommend booking as soon as possible!

Denver Marriott Tech Center – 4-star hotel

4900 S Syracuse St, Denver, CO 80237
303-779-1100
Distance from office: 0.9-1.2 miles, depending on route

A 10% discount is available if you book your room using this link.

This discount is subject to general hotel availability and not guaranteed. So, we recommend booking as soon as possible!

Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center – 4-star hotel

7800 E Tufts Ave, Denver, CO 80237
303-779-1234
Distance from office: 1.1 miles