Amy Cuddy will delve into how we can become more present, influential, compassionate, and satisfied in our professional and personal lives. She offers a special focus on the power of prejudice; nonverbal behavior; the delicate balance of trustworthiness and strength; and the ways in which we can affect our own thoughts, performance, and well-being.

Demand for mental health and wellness services has been growing rapidly on many college campuses, and finding the resources to meet the growing need has been challenging. Mindful College Connections is a Lilly endowment-funded shared-resource consortium formed by DePauw University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and St. Mary of the Woods College. It was created to enhance the capacity of member institutions for providing high-quality, cost-effective mental health care services. Speakers will discuss the process for establishing the consortium, its structure, and preliminary outcomes data. Participants will be able to assess whether a similar approach makes sense for their institution.

As their roles on campus continued to expand, chief business officers (CBOs) from institutions in the Big 12 collaborated to create a Higher Education Scorecard. The strategic tool is a master list of key initiatives to document the critical decisions and projects that need to be explored so their institutions can be efficient and effective in achieving their missions. The Big 12 CBOs now leverage the Scorecard to assess their institution’s performance and proactively chart their course forward. This session will share the process the Big 12 CBOs took to create the Scorecard and the ways they intend to maintain it as future higher education trends emerge. It will also include advice on how attendees can implement the Scorecard at their own institutions.

This session will highlight the pressing issue of the childcare crisis and the innovative solutions that universities can offer as significant landowners. With the end of ARPA funding, the gap in accessible and affordable childcare options impacts both employee engagement and organizational talent retention. This discussion will focus on the potential of university-owned land in addressing these challenges, offering insights into enhancing workforce stability and overall satisfaction through strategic land use.

This session will explain the benefits of passive investing and how an endowment can be constructed entirely with exchange traded funds (ETF). The speakers will cover the goals and objectives of the investment process, the determination of asset classes, how ETFs can enhance an actively managed portfolio, and the impact of fees on investment returns. To illustrate the passive investment process, they’ll also share five sample portfolios and compare their annualized returns to the 2023 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments for the past 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods.

One of the media’s most trusted voices, Chuck Todd will offer razor-sharp analysis of the political landscape in the run-up to the 2024 election. He’ll interpret the most pressing issues facing the country and offer his insight and analysis into Washington politics and what we can expect in 2025 and beyond. It will be a truly informative experience! (This session will not be recorded.)

Transitioning to a modern, cloud-based ERP has many benefits. However, to realize these benefits, colleges and universities must navigate cultural, organizational, and technical challenges. In this panel discussion, finance leaders from three public institutions will examine the challenges they faced—and how they addressed them—before, during, and after their cloud transformation projects. Panelists will also share the benefits they realized at the end of their efforts, including money and time saved, employee experiences enhanced, and simplified IT infrastructure.

Cultivating a healthy partnership between counsel and the CBO is now a must considering the complex simmering federal, state, and local legal issues that impact colleges and universities. On the menu for this session, attendees will learn from a panel of well-seasoned postsecondary attorneys about the legal issues most likely to reach a boiling point over the next 12 to 18 months—and how to work with counsel to successfully navigate the “secret menu” of hot topics including the new FLSA overtime rule, navigating DEIB, NIL issues, and AI before it all spells disaster.

While colleges and universities enter thousands of contracts each year, many haven’t established a policy or educated staff to guide employees responsible for contracting. The good news is that clear campus contracting policies and procedures can protect colleges and universities from many claims and unexpected liabilities. In this session, learn how to recognize common contracting pitfalls to ensure your institution does not face contractual problems and inadvertently assume responsibility for these preventable losses.

This session will share how to navigate complex labor-management relationships as faculty, staff, and student unionization grow. Learn about the many unique aspects of labor relations and how they impact higher education—the nature of the institution (e.g., public or private), location of the institution, rights afforded via State Law, rights extended to student workers, work stoppages, and the associated costs. Early awareness and strategic financial planning will lead to healthier relationships, more robust contingency planning, and better negotiation frameworks. Panelists will offer experienced views and practical advice focused on approaches to collaborative labor relations and how effectively managing and implementing all aspects of collective bargaining is critical.