Chancellor Nancy Zimpher launched SUNYCON in 2011 with the goal of bringing cross-sector leaders together to collaborate, explore, and address the critical issues facing higher education. The conference gives SUNY the ability to facilitate the idea of exploration that empowers universities across the nation. Each year, the conference draws in hundreds of experts and influencers from academia, media, policy makers and organizations with a key stake in the issues impacting higher education. This year, the bar has been raised again with an agenda that is not to be missed!
The 2016 edition of SUNYCON may be the most engaging yet. As we’ve outlined before, this year’s conference will explore how the higher education sector can take the significant national attention we’ve been receiving to adapt and prove we’re far from obsolete.
So other than the fabulous theme, what else is happening in and around the conference? Here’s 6 great things to get you excited about SUNYCON 2016!
1. Many sessions are being broadcasted so you can stream them online.
The plenary sessions this year cover a huge range of topics in the higher education community. So attendees can invite their co-workers at home to listen to expert managers, policy makers, and others offer insight on these topics.
Take for example the day one morning plenary, titled “Shut Up About Harvard”, a plenary about media depictions of “college” too often focusing on elite institutions, which can then overshadow the experiences of the vast majority of American college students and alumni.
On day two, “Public Higher Education Should Be Universal and Free” will lead a discussion about college investment, trying to answer the burning question of “Who should pay for college and what does expanding access mean for our schools’ ability to support their students through completion?”
These sessions, and more, will be available for livestream on the SUNYCON website.
2. SUNYCON is NOT actually all about SUNY – it’s about higher education across the United States.
SUNYCON is a national platform aimed at higher education in general that includes leading experts across the country. Among this year’s all star line-up of speakers and panelists, we have:
- Kim Donaldson, who is Co-Founder and CEO of Excelle Sports, a multimedia platform dedicated to year-round coverage of women’s sports at the NCAA, pro and Olympic levels.
- Rob Franek, the Editor in Chief at the Princeton Review.
- Roberto Rodriguez, Deputy Assistant to the President for Education, White House Domestic Policy Council.
You can see that the speakers and panelists are from all different fields of expertise and come together to provide the most comprehensive view of the theme of the conference, which is the media attention given to higher education and how that shapes the public’s perception of our institutions and higher education in general.
3. You can get involved on social media.
The conference will be all over social media. The Twitter discussion has already started, and you can join in at any point using #SUNYCON. There will also be a live twitter wall at the conference, so attendees can follow the conversations behind the scenes throughout the event. Facebook Live will be in use for some of the plenary sessions. And there will be plenty of photos making their way to Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and more. So make sure you’re connected and don’t miss out!
4. This is an interactive conference.
SUNYCON 2016 will have a number of leadership workshops presented by industry experts on a range of topics. Consider:
- Media Crisis: How to Communicate – This will help attendees learn how to handle a media crisis and come out of it unscathed.
- Implicit Bias: How to Navigate – An interactive presentation with Dr. Samuel Sommers and Keith Maddox from Tufts University that will teach attendees about the cognitive and behavioral research on implicit bias.
- The final workshop is a limited workshop talking about communicating science presented by Laura Lindenfeld and Valeri Lantz-Gefro. They will speak on the uses of improvisational theater games to help scientists speak more spontaneously and effectively.
All these workshops are interactive and hands-on learning experiences. The purpose is to ensure attendees know how to take this information back to their institutions and be better, more effective, communicators.
5. Students are key participants in the event.
Each year, SUNYCON brings a select group of Student Fellows from our campuses to participate in SUNYCON. This group of students is chosen based on their interest in innovation in higher education. All Student Fellows will have exclusive access to some of the conference speakers to have private roundtable discussions, allowing students to share what they learn and bring new ideas back to campus. As always, students are key to the discussions that take place across the whole SUNY system, so having them take part in our annual conference helps make SUNYCON the success it is.
We’ll be sure to hear from some of our Student Fellows about their experience once they return to campus.
6. You’re in NYC!
Attendees will be right near Times Square, in the city that never sleeps! While you’re there, find time to check out The Beginning of the End, an interactive art exhibit in Times Square, sponsored by Times Square Arts, Cuban Artists Fund and Cuban artist Rachel Valdés Camejo, that asks visitors to investigate the relationship of the viewer to the object and its surrounding space. This exhibit is available at Broadway plaza between 46th and 47th streets.
And there are plenty of other things to see, taste, or experience while in New York City. Don’t worry, we have some sources for tips on where to go or what to do available for you.
We’re very much looking forward to this event and hope you all are too!
Yeah, I’m really exited about that 🙂