POD Network 45th Annual Conference

45th Annual POD Network Conference

Virtual Conference | November 10-13, 2020

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.

44th Annual POD Network Conference

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 13-17, 2019

Leaning on the theme of Connection: Closing the Distance, we encouraged proposals for the conference that explored how human and digital connection can be intentionally leveraged by the educational development community to promote authentic connection in our ever-changing higher education landscape.

A large outdoor vintage sign saying "Portland, Oregon" with a deer above the text

43rd Annual POD Network Conference

Portland, Oregon, November 14-18, 2018

Leadership and managing change are two of the most pressing concerns POD Network Members face in their institutions and in the educational development profession. We believe that these two concepts, leadership and change, are naturally intertwined and combined them to form the 2018 conference theme.

Sessions addressing this theme considered the questions: Where in higher education is change already happening? And where is change needed but not happening—or not happening quickly enough? What kind of professional development do we need to become the leaders who are successful in navigating the changes on the horizon?

A well-known Montreal landmark building

42nd Annual POD Network Conference

Montreal, Quebec, October 25-29, 2017

Our conference theme was Defining What Matters: Understanding and Enhancing the Impact of Educational Development. We offered this theme in part as a response to our membership’s desire to refine the ways we assess the impacts of our work, but also as an opportunity to explore more deeply what it means to matter in our field—to ourselves, our colleagues, our clients and collaborators, and our communities. By examining that broader view of impact, we hoped to recognize and share the value of our work, as well as discover paths for expanding our opportunities to matter within higher education.

41st Annual POD Network Conference

Louisville, Kentucky, November 9-13, 2016

Our conference theme was Transformative Relationships: Fostering Cultures of Deep Learning. We hoped that this theme would inspire us to consider the ways that our work impacts change on a broader level through the relationships that we forge within our communities of teaching and learning. After critical reflection during the POD Network’s 40th anniversary where we looked inward about our own practices, we turned to look outward to consider the types of relationships that would help us to expand our impact.

We invited educational developers to explore how to build deeper connections within our institutions and larger societies. How can these personal connections be seen as gateways to transforming our own professional practices and values, encouraging deep learning for our students and strengthening educational and organizational development missions on micro, meso, and macro-levels?

40th Annual POD Network Conference

San Francisco, CA, November 4-8, 2015

The 2015 conference theme was Back to the Future: Critical Reflection, Effective Practice. This theme guided us as we celebrated an amazing accomplishment, our 40th annual conference, and afforded us a unique opportunity to appraise our past and present work as educational developers. The theme also sought to inspire conversations about the future direction of our organization by connecting the previous presidential addresses by Kathryn Plank, who encouraged us to look at ourselves in the present, and Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens, who guided us through an examination of our past.

39th Annual POD Network Conference

Dallas, Texas, November 5-9, 2014

The conference theme for 2014 was Leverage. This theme invited us to explore the various roles that we play as faculty developers, administrators, teachers, and students, and the ways in which we capitalize on the assets around us to meet the many needs of the higher education community, ideally doing more and better work with less effort. We hoped this theme and conference would build on Kathryn Plank’s 2013 Presidential Address, during which we all contemplated who we are and our relationship to the meaningful work that we do. In that spirit, how do we leverage who we are to better accomplish all that we are asked to do, and why do we persevere?