2008 POD Network/NCSPOD Conference

The Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network
&
The National Council for Staff, Program and
Organizational Development (NCSPOD) 

2008 POD Network/NCSPOD Conference
October 22-25
The Nugget Resort
Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Please read this information completely before preparing your registration form. You may scroll through the information or link to the various segments as indicated in the directory below.

• Invitation to Attend

• Overview of the POD Network and Conference

• Conference Theme: Weaving Patterns of Practice

• Topic Areas

• Conference Overview

• POD Membership Dues

• Conference Fees

  • Job Fair – included in fees

  • Graduate Student Professional Developer Breakfast – included in fees

  • Resource Fair – included in fees

  • Vendor Exhibit – separate fees

• Plenary Sessions

• Topical Interest Groups

• Pre-Conference Workshops (descriptions and costs)

  • Full-Day Workshops

  • Morning Half-Day Workshops

  • Afternoon Half-Day Workshops

• Educational Expeditions (descriptions and costs)

• Hotel Reservations and Travel Instructions

• Shipping Information

• Registration form and instructions

  • 2008 Conference Registration Form - (use this form for secure electronic conference registration; payment by credit card (Visa or MasterCard only), check, or Purchase Order accepted)

INVITATION TO ATTEND

Dear Colleagues,

You are enthusiastically invited to attend the 2008 joint POD/NCSPOD conference in Reno, Nevada.

Those who have attended a POD conference in the past know that this is not a dry academic meeting. If you are new to the organization, we heartily welcome you to a uniquely friendly and nurturing community of colleagues.

At this conference, you will experience interactive workshops, plenary sessions, roundtable discussions, and poster presentations.  We promote dialogue among colleagues outside of formal sessions through shared meals, educational expeditions, and the resource fair, where colleagues freely share ideas and materials with one another.  Some new highlights this year include:

1. Volunteers will be available in a hospitality area to guide attendees in getting the most out of the many opportunities the conference offers. Numerous informal meeting spaces will also be set up throughout the conference to facilitate collegiality and connection.

2. The vendor exhibit will extend over two days.

3. Rather than printing separate theme sheets, we will include categories and topics for each session in the program.  The program will be available online prior to the conference.

4. Students can register for the conference at a significantly reduced rate. 

5. The POD Award Ceremony will occur at the Friday lunch.  The Saturday banquet and dance will be a joint POD/NCSPOD celebration.

We encourage you to register for the conference by September 19 in order to take advantage of the early bird conference rate and to reserve your room at the conference hotel.  The pre-conference sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, October 22, and concurrent sessions start on Thursday morning and continue through Saturday afternoon.  The conference ends with the Saturday evening banquet and dance.

We look forward to seeing you in Reno!

Kathryn Plank & Laurel Willingham-McLain, Conference Chairs
Kevin Barry & Debra Fowler, Program Chairs

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OVERVIEW OF THE POD NETWORK AND CONFERENCE

The POD Network

POD supports a network of nearly 1800 members who have an interest in educational and organizational development. While POD members come primarily from the U.S.A. and Canada, the membership also represents 20 other countries. Through its members the POD Network leads and supports change for the improvement of higher education through faculty, instructional, and organizational development.

The POD Network seeks to promote these values:

• Scholarship

• Participation

• Interaction

• Collaboration

• Inclusion

The POD Mission

The POD Network in Higher Education fosters human development in higher education through faculty, graduate student, instructional, and organizational development. POD believes that people have value, as individuals and as members of groups. POD considers the development of students a fundamental purpose of higher education that requires for its success effective advising, teaching, leadership, and management. Central to POD's philosophy is lifelong, holistic, personal, and professional learning, growth, and change for the higher education community.

The POD Annual Conference

The annual conference attracts over 700 people, and primarily targets practitioners in educational development, both novice and experienced. The conference also appeals to these groups:

• Administrators

• Faculty

• Graduate student developers

• Graduate students

• Independent consultants

• Publishers for the above audiences

• Members of higher education organizations

Collectively, program sessions do the following:

• Actively engage participants

• Reflect current research and theoretical frameworks

• Involve colleagues from around the world

• Address the needs of graduate students and both new and experienced faculty

• Include elements for personal growth

• Describe working partnerships

• Demonstrate diversity in cultures, collaborations, and planning

CONFERENCE THEME: WEAVING PATTERNS OF PRACTICE

Northern Nevada's diverse landscape, from the Great Basin Desert to the Sierra Nevada peaks, has inspired the area's native artisans for centuries. This inspiration is apparent in basket-weaving and other arts and crafts in which individual strands are woven together to create greater strength, utility, and beauty. Yet the colors and textures of individual strands remain visible. The materials and designs are infinite, and the creative possibilities endless.

This year’s conference represents the weaving together of our two organizations, POD and NCSPOD. This coming together also represents something larger: an exploration of the ways in which various kinds of institutions can collaborate to offer high quality post-secondary education.

Please join us in exploring the theme of Weaving Patterns of Practice:

• How do our patterns of practice reflect both those strands that persist across time and those that are emerging? In what ways do our practices intertwine the past, present, and future?

• What diverse disciplines and populations do we seek to bring together through our work? In what ways, for example, do we promote cross-cultural and cross-generational learning communities?

• Being pulled in so many directions, how do we as educators remain whole and strong? How do we integrate the various priorities of our lives?

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TOPIC AREAS

These categories and topics represent ongoing areas of research and practice among  POD and NCSPOD members. One of these three overarching categories will be designated in the program for each session.

• Professional Development – Practices and activities contributing to the evolution of individuals in the field. Includes but is not limited to orientation, career planning, mentoring, goal setting, time management, and ethics.

• Instructional Development – Practices and activities contributing to the advancement of teaching and learning. Includes but is not limited to learning theory, consultation, and programming.

• Organizational Development – Practices and activities contributing to the vitality of the organization. Includes but is not limited to leadership, strategic planning, sustainability, accreditation, and collaboration.

Each session will also have 1-2 of the following topics designated in the program. These allow for greater specificity within the category.

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CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
(tentative)

The POD conference registration desk will be open in the Rose Foyer at these times:

• Wednesday, 7:00 am–6:00 pm

• Thursday 7:00 am–6:00 pm

• Friday 7:00 am–5:00 pm

• Saturday 7:00 am–5:00 pm