Dear Academic Leader Reader:
I’m excited to announce the first Leadership in Higher Education Conference, brought to you by Magna Publications, the publisher of Academic Leader. This leadership conference promises the same quality programming, networking opportunities, and thought leadership you’ve seen at our Teaching Professor conferences, but this one will be tailored to deans, department chairs, faculty developers, and other academic leaders.

The Leadership in Higher Education Conference provides an opportunity for academic leaders to learn innovative strategies, trends, and best practices for effective management from nationally recognized experts and to network with like-minded peers from a wide range of academic institutions. Keynote and plenary speeches, concurrent interactive workshop sessions, and roundtable conversations foster a climate of learning and collaboration.

Best Practices for Deans and Department Chairs
This track will give you all the tools you need to be a successful leader:

• Faculty evaluation basics
• Managing a department or division
• What you need to know about learning theory and pedagogy
• Basic budgeting for a department and doing more with less
• New leadership: A successful first year for newly appointed deans or chairs

Leadership and Management
Learn effective management practices:

• Facilitating a collegial department
• Managing challenging faculty situations
• Balancing faculty and administrative needs
• Handling conflict

Evaluation and Assessment
Assessment is very much on the minds of administrators because states, accreditors, students, and parents all look for evidence of quality. Topics include:

• Working with accreditors
• Understanding trends in state assessment and compliance
• Strategic planning for evaluation and assessment
• Best practices in learning assessment

Faculty Hiring and Development
One of the most important jobs of an academic leader is to select the right new department members and provide faculty development opportunities such as:

• Conducting effective searches
• Designing an effective faculty development program
• Understanding the different needs of faculty who teach face-to-face, in hybrid classrooms, and online
• Using technology and online delivery for faculty development
• Managing promotion and tenure

Issues and Trends in the World of Higher Education
Topics may include:

• Financial
• Legal/regulatory (Title IX compliance, Clery Act)
• ADA or UDL compliance
• Diversity
• Effective budgeting

I am especially excited about this newest conference offering from Magna Publications. Session proposals are currently being accepted, and the deadline is April 30. (See http://www.magnapubs.com/2016-leadership-in-higher-education-conference/call-for-proposals.html for more information.) I’m looking forward to meeting many of our readers at our first-ever Leadership in Higher Education Conference.

Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti, M.S.
Chair, Leadership in Higher Education Conference
Managing Editor, Academic Leader