Key Sessions

Sunday, July 15

1:00-2:00
The Future of Higher Ed: A Kaleidoscope Perspective
Though Americans have traditionally valued higher education as a route to a better future for themselves and their children, over the past decade we have seen public confidence in higher education erode. Public discourse has focused on high costs, large student debt loads, endowment spending policies and doubts about whether a college education instills the competencies students need to succeed in our ever-changing world. Amid these questions, other countries are taking aggressive steps to make higher education broadly available to their citizens. Our panel of higher education leaders, including experts from both private and public colleges and universities, two-year and four-year institutions, and domestic and foreign schools will address fundamental questions about the role of higher education today and into the next economy.

Speakers: Sylvia Manning, President, Higher Learning Commission; DeRionne Pollard, President, Montgomery College; Lap-Chee Tsui, President, University of Hong Kong; and Andrew Rosen, Chairman and CEO, Kaplan
Moderator: Bernard Shaw, Journalist

Sponsored by: Ellucian

4:45-5:45
Drive: What the Science of Motivation Can Teach You About High Performance
Dan Pink, best-selling author of A Whole New Mind, uses four decades of behavioral research to reveal why the traditional approach to high performance backfires on most organizations. In a provocative and entertaining presentation, Pink demonstrates how many common organizational incentives often go wrong-and can reduce both creativity and satisfaction on the job. Participants will learn that the people who do what they do because of enjoyment of the task itself routinely outperform those who are motivated by external rewards. With examples from cutting-edge companies and intriguing experiments around the world, participants will learn the three key ingredients of intrinsically-motivated high performers-and demonstrate how organizations can create contexts that tap our deepest motivations to produce the highest results.

Speaker: Dan Pink, Author

Sponsored by: Campbell & Company

Monday, July 16

4:30-6:00
Up Close and Personal: A Donor's Reflections
One of America's most important philanthropists will offer his candid observations about why higher education merits major support and what colleges and universities need to think about in order to make the most compelling case possible.  Moderator Bob Edwards will ask questions to dive deeper into Rubenstein's thinking and will then take additional questions from the audience.

Speaker: David Rubenstein, Philanthropist and Co-Founder, The Carlyle Group
Interviewer: Bob Edwards, Host, "The Bob Edwards Show"; Former NPR Host of "Morning Edition"

Sponsored by: Blackbaud

Tuesday, July 17

8:30-10:00
The Social Web: Relationships in the Digital Age
Advancement is about relationships. This session will cover the current state of relationship-building, where we need to be today and what we might anticipate about tomorrow. How do we use all of the media available to us to develop new relationships and deepen existing ones? At what point do we need to log off and tune into each other in person? Discuss the implications of social media in the context of relationship-building and learn how we connect with each other, and institutions, in the digital age.

Speaker: Sherry Turkle, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Responders: Charlie Melichar, Associate Vice Chancellor, Communications Office, Vanderbilt University; and Scott Westerman, Associate Vice President and Executive Director, Alumni Association, Michigan State University

Sponsored by: Liberty Mutual

10:30 AM-NOON
Invisible or Remarkable?
Hear from one of today's contemporary thinkers on the fast-paced world of marketing. Best-selling author Seth Godin believes that the only way to spread word about an idea is to create buzz that the idea is remarkable. He believes that ideas that spread win, that stories-not facts-rule, and that remarkable products and services are the most likely to succeed. During this session he will touch upon how leadership can be used as the most effective form of marketing when you're willing to "poke the box," a call to action about the initiative you're willing to take in both your life and at your job.

Speaker: Seth Godin, Author and Entrepreneur

Sponsored by: GEICO