Looking Inward, Thinking Forward

We cordially invite you to participate in the POD Network’s 45th Annual Conference. This year’s conference is planned as a virtual event.

Our theme is 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

Conference registration fees do not include membership dues. If you would like to register at the lower, POD Network member rate, you must already be a member or you must renew or join before you register for the conference.

Refund Policy:  A full refund, minus $25 USD processing fee, will be made if a cancellation is received by October 1, 2020. A $50 USD cancellation fee will be retained for cancellations received from October 2–15, 2020. Other than in the case of personal emergency, no refunds can be made after October 15, 2020. Substitutions in attendees may be made at any time.

The POD Network

The POD Network supports a network of over 1,400 members who have an interest in educational and organizational development. While POD Network members come primarily from the USA and Canada, the membership also represents 18 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 the scholarship of teaching, learning, and organizational development that reflects a spirit of inclusion, where all members are invited to collaborate and interact with colleagues across disciplines and borders.

Mission

The POD Network exists to provide professional development and a community of practice for scholars and practitioners of educational development, and to serve as a leading voice on matters related to teaching and learning in higher education.

Values

The work and decisions of the POD Network are informed by its commitments to:

• Collaboration: The POD Network strives to be collaborative and collegial, with distributed leadership as the basis for governance structures and operations. Sharing resources and expertise are hallmarks of member interactions.
• Equity: The POD Network strives to be transparent and inclusive, with ongoing efforts to promote equitable access and involvement, eliminate systemic inequities that result from biases, and support members in advancing social justice. The organization is strengthened by and committed to expanding diversity among and on behalf of members.
• Evidence: The POD Network strives to ground practices and decisions in evidence, adapt and reuse proven methods, and innovate to improve upon prior work. Diverse forms of evidence, a variety of inquiry methods, and a basis in theory are recognized as valuable and essential.

Read more about POD Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals

The annual POD Network conference has been recently attracting over 1000 people, and primarily targets practitioners in the fields of educational and organizational development, both novice and experienced. The conference appeals to administrators, faculty, educational developers, graduate and professional student developers, graduate students, independent consultants, members of higher education organizations, and publishers for these communities.

2020 Virtual POD Conference

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 POD Network Conference will be hosted as a virtual event combining interactive synchronous sessions and roundtables with asynchronous, on-demand workshops and presentations.

Concurrent and plenary conference sessions are scheduled from November 10–13, 2020.

Conference materials and session recordings will be accessible to conference attendees until January 31, 2021.