The connections between democracy and higher education, the philanthropic future of higher education, leadership strategies for student success, and targeted educational movements that benefit all students—all of these sessions are on the agenda for All In: The 2024 CCA Annual Convening. Complete College America today released additional details on plenary and live-streamed sessions, bringing together thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators to address crucial topics in higher education and college completion.
Opening Mainstage Session
Degrees of Democracy: Rebuilding Confidence in the Value of a College Degree
Monday, November 18, 2 pm – Grand Ballroom 5/6
This session will explore the vital connections between college completion and a thriving democracy. Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, CCA President, will kick off the session with updates on the college completion movement. A distinguished panel will then discuss strategies for rebuilding public confidence in the value of a college degree.
Panelists:
- Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, President, Complete College America
- Chris Lowery, Commissioner, Indiana Commission on Higher Education
- Dr. Nicola Blake, Senior Fellow for Strategic Initiatives and Student Success, City University of New York
- Darryl Cooper, Member of the Class of 2025, Howard University
- Dr. Carol Geary Schneider, Senior Advisor, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition
Tuesday Mainstage Session
Leading from the Center – Indiana as a Leader in Higher Education
Tuesday, November 19, 2 pm – Grand Ballroom 5/6
Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation, will address the most pressing priorities in higher education as part of a featured plenary keynote for All In.
Following his remarks, a panel of Indiana campus leaders will discuss innovations addressing today’s higher education challenges and how they are positioning their campuses to be All In on student success.
Speaker:
- Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO, Lumina Foundation
Panelists:
- Dr. Lorenzo Esters (Moderator), President, The Indianapolis Foundation
- Dr. Sue Ellspermann, President, Ivy Tech Community College
- Dr. Tanuja Singh, President, University of Indianapolis
- Dr. Sean Huddleston, President, Martin University
- Dr. Debbie Ford, Chancellor, Indiana University Southeast
Stan Jones Stage Sessions
Livestreamed from the Stan Jones Stage in Grand Ballroom 4
Complete College America: 15 Years of Movement Building & Institutional Transformation
Tuesday, November 19, 9:15 am – Grand Ballroom 4 + live-streamed
In 2009, Stan Jones envisioned creating an Alliance of states to join together in advocating for the policies, perspectives, and practices that would increase college completion. In the 15 years since, CCA has built an Alliance of 53 states and systems/consortia while advancing game-changing strategies to transform institutions and communities. In this session, current and past CCA staff and Board members will celebrate the successes of CCA and examine the future of the organization and the movement.
Panelists:
- Dr. Dhanfu Elston (Moderator), Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President for Strategy, Complete College America
- Dr. Keith Witham, Vice President-Education Philanthropy, Ascendium Education Group
- Dominique Raymond, Strategy Director, Lumina Foundation
- Cheryl Orr Dixon, President, Orr Dixon Consulting, LLC
- Dr. Barbara Damron, Professor and Senior Advisor to the Dean, College of Nursing, The University of New Mexico
Philanthropic Future of College Completion
Tuesday, November 19, 3:15 pm – Grand Ballroom 4 + live-streamed
Philanthropy has long played a critical role in driving the college completion movement. In this session, experts from leading postsecondary philanthropic organizations will share the priorities of their organizations and trends for grants and giving in the higher education space. Topic discussions will include the role of philanthropy in guiding the overall college completion movement, how public-private partnerships can move postsecondary education forward, and the role of philanthropy amidst shifting funding models for higher education.
Panelists:
- Dr. Vita Pickrum (Moderator), President, Delaware State University Foundation; Vice President, Institutional Advancement, Delaware State University
- Dr. Laura Boche, Program Officer, ECMC Foundation
- Gabriela Torres, Deputy Director, Transformation at Scale, Postsecondary Success, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Dr. Jasmine Haywood, Strategy Director, Lumina Foundation
Latinx Student Success Panel
Wednesday, November 20, 10:30 am – Grand Ballroom 4 + live-streamed
There are now 600 colleges and universities designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions and more than 3.5 million Hispanic/Latino students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions. With this increase in Hispanic representation in the higher education ecosystem, this session will examine what we mean by Latinx Student Success. The panel will include perspectives from a Hispanic-serving university, state, and national higher education organization to discuss how we can best serve our Latinx students.
Panelists:
- Dr. Brandon Protas (Moderator), Assistant Vice President for Alliance Engagement, Complete College America
- Sarita Brown, Co-Founder & President, Excelencia in Education
- Dr. Patricia Trujillo, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Higher Education Department
- Dr. Agustín Rullán, Chancellor, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Join us for these engaging mainstage and Stan Jones Stage sessions that will shape the future of higher education and the college completion movement.
Register now for All In: The 2024 CCA Annual Convening and be part of these crucial conversations!
