Due to the onset of COVID 19 in early 2020, the 2020 CITM conference became the 2021 conference hosted by Georgetown University, June 1-4 and held completely virtually using Zoom as the delivery platform. The last time Georgetown hosted the conference was in 2002.
Hosting virtually allowed the planning committee to invite AJCU colleagues from around the world. The extended invitations resulted in the largest registration (>500) for a CITM event to date.
The start of the conference was later than usual to accommodate west coast participants. Another benefit of the virtual conference was that all of the sessions were recorded and available for viewing. Post-Pandemic teaching and learning and digital transformation were themes throughout the conference presentations.
The conference opening was Tuesday, June 1, 1:00 – 1:15pm (EST). The Opening Ceremony included a welcome from Georgetown President John DeGioia. The CITM History Project was honored to be included in the opening ceremony. Mark Castner and John Bansavich represented the History Project and spoke of their gratitude and presented a 5 minute video montage to celebrate 35 years of the AJCU CITM Conference. Their script is included here.
Keynote Addresses
A keynote address followed the opening ceremony titled Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, given by Robert Groves, Provost, Georgetown University.
The opening keynote provided reflections on the focus of this year’s conference: how the global pandemic has affected our institutions during this time, how prepared we were, the challenges we faced and how we addressed them, the roles that teaching and learning centers played, academic continuity planning, IT investments that have been impacted by the massive disruption, the lessons we have learned, and what they mean for the future.
Groves also spoke of the need to “be more agile”, Digital Learning as a “core capacity” and suggested that faculty share how they are teaching differently and the lessons learned from the past year.
Wednesday’s keynote was a panel discussion titled Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education. Moderated by Randy Bass, Georgetown’s Vice President for Strategic Education Initiatives, the panelists discussed the relevance of their work post-COVID, as well as the changes and challenges they saw higher education facing over the next few years. Panelists included: Bryan Alexander, Senior Scholar, CNDLS, and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University and Joshua Kim, Director of Online Programs and Strategy, Dartmouth College.
Thursday’s Keynote Traction for Good, was led by Greg Malpass, who spoke of service with a broader purpose. Greg is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Traction on Demand. He spoke of helping organizations develop greater potential in people, thinking differently about day-to-day business use of space by considering renting spaces in local businesses, developing pop-up businesses, and that with technology individuals can develop greater potential. He mentioned that “A life well invested is a life well spent”.
Friday’s keynote was titled: Values that Transform, led by Jessica Hood, VP, Global Innovation + Digital Transformation, Salesforce.org. Jessica spoke of the digital transformation that is underway and the need to ensure that institutions are set up for success as they lead their organizations through this time of new opportunities and change.
Social events and opportunities for networking
Social Hours were provided in Zoom the last hour of the first and second days of the conference, June 1st and 2nd. The group on Tuesday was small but lively. Previous conferences and attendee updates of campus happenings occupied most of the conversation. Folks from Fordham (Shannon) and Loyola MD (Jessica Smith) volunteered to send conference photos from their most recent conferences for the History Project. Individuals were called out for their outstanding or unusual expertise, like a long-serving staff member who is also a craft beer expert. The Wednesday social hour had Zoom-reported attendance that varied between 15 and 25. The first half hour was filled with light hearted conversation and a shout out to Annette Nicholson and Christopher Davis, the conference Zoom admins who made it look easy. After that, the topics turned to “business.” Interesting but still business, and what we came to the conference for. 🙂
A Virtual Happy Hour was provided the last hour of the third day of the conference, June 3rd. Zoom reported attendance of about 70 at the beginning but only a fraction of those attendees were active. It was late for east coast folks and west coast folks still had work to do, so the event died by attrition.
A Virtual wine tasting event took place the last day of the conference for presenters, as a thank you from the conference coordinators, Friday, June 4 at 4pm (EST). Attendance was good and the conversation lively. No business talk at this event! People were obviously enjoying themselves, to the point where someone asked, “Are we supposed to be finishing each bottle before we move on?” A good time was had by all.
Links to materials from the 2021 conference
- Conference Announcement
- Conference Welcome
- Conference Website
- Conference Program
- Conference Attendees
- AJCU 2021 – Attendance Lists with Sessions
- History Project Video Series