Looking Inward, Thinking Forward
Even before Covid-19 caused major interruptions, higher education had been experiencing significant budgetary, policy, and cultural challenges that are prompting institutions to reflect upon, justify, and adjust their practices and processes—and sometimes their values. To create flexible responses to these shifting and complex times, it is imperative that we “look inward and think forward:” that we critically examine our current contexts, narratives, and traditions while keeping in mind the future goals and needs of our institutions, our disciplines, and the communities we serve.
Because of our unique and longstanding partnerships with faculty, students, and administrators, educational developers are uniquely situated to facilitate important and necessary changes, from amplifying and supporting research-based teaching and learning practices to advocating for campus policies beyond the classroom that create more inclusive learning environments. As we strive to understand and articulate the internal and external challenges we currently face, storytelling can be a powerful means of advancing collective visions for change and strategy.
Please plan to join us this year in conversations that address challenges, successes, as well as concrete applications and strategies for looking inward and thinking forward during turbulent times.
Claudia Cornejo Happel, Conference Co-Chair
German Vargas Ramos, Conference Co-Chair
Tammy M. McCoy, Program Co-Chair
Jerod Quinn, Program Co-Chair
Hoag Holmgren, POD Network Executive Director