Welcome & Introduction Speakers
1:00 - 1:15 p.m.
Keynote Speaker
1:15 - 1:45 p.m.
Emil Kakkis
Emil Kakkis, Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director, Ultragenyx
Emil Kakkis is Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director of Ultragenyx. He founded Ultragenyx in 2010 to create a company that is uniquely built around a deep and meaningful engagement with patients and their caregivers to fully understand their needs.
Session Two Speakers
1:45 – 2:45 p.m.
Partnering with Community-Based Organizations to Increase College Access
More and more, community-based organizations are working directly with students and local educational agencies to strengthen college access, particularly among underrepresented youths. With more funding being directed to the UC and CSU for enrollment support, more awareness needs to be raised to highlight the independent sector as a place for underrepresented students. Barbara Gee, deputy director of the Northern California Promise Coalition, and Alison De Lucca, executive director of SoCalCAN, will discuss the work that their organizations do and how they partner with regional colleges and universities to ensure all students have equitable access to a postsecondary education.
Session Three Speaker
3:00 – 3:45 p.m.
Federal Legislative Update and Political Insight
From new proposed Title IX regulations to the Supreme Court decision on abortion access to increases in the Pell Grant and research funding, 2022 saw significant shifts on the federal political landscape that will have an impact on higher education. With a deep background in and keen awareness of higher education policy, Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, will speak about these ramifications on independent colleges and universities, as well as the pivotal 2022 midterm elections.
Ted Mitchell
President, American Council on Education
Mitchell’s leadership of ACE and of the nation’s higher education sector is informed by a lifetime's work in higher education as a professor, dean, college president, trustee, and most recently as U.S. Under Secretary of Education in the Obama administration.
Session Four Speaker
3:45 – 4:30 p.m.
Facing the Cliff: Demographic Changes and Higher Education
The changing demographics of the country and the state—notably the decline in the birthrate and the decline number of high school graduates—will impact higher education for years to come. The pandemic depressed undergraduate enrollment across the board and, perhaps, reveals potential future challenges for colleges and universities. Hans Johnson, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California and a nationally recognized demographer, will speak about the trends he is seeing and the impacts on independent higher education in the state.
Session Five Speaker
4:30 – 5:15 p.m.
Politics of Higher Education
Over the last four years, the Newsom Administration has implemented impactful and tangible policy goals, including substantial investments in higher education and financial aid, the establishment of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care, and the creation of the Office of the Cradle-to-Career Data System. The architect behind these achievements is Ben Chida, chief deputy cabinet secretary for Governor Gavin Newsom. Mr. Chida will join participants to speak about the impact of these success on independent colleges and universities, as well as Governor Newsom’s higher education policy goals in his second term.
Session One Speakers
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Annual Business Meeting
Session Two Speakers
10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
State Legislative Update and New Dashboard Reveal
AICCU secured several significant achievements this legislative session, from investments in the sector’s Cal Grant students to state budgetary support to expand and strengthen community college transfer and articulation. Alex Graves, AICCU vice president for government relations, will discuss what transpired in 2022 for state higher education policy, and Pamela Ong, AICCU research manager, will share AICCU’s new dashboard tool for segmental data research and insights.
Session Three
10:45 – 11:15 a.m.
SECURE 2.0: What to Expect
Join TIAA’s Federal Government relations, Chris Spence, for a discussion of SECURE 2.0, a comprehensive legislative proposal currently moving through Congress. Chris will discuss the status of the legislation, provide an overview of some of the key provisions, and what plan sponsors should be thinking about as this bill moves toward enactment.
Chris Spence
Managing Director, Head of Federal Government Relations
Chris Spence has been with TIAA since 1999. During his first eight years with the company, he served as a Financial Consultant, providing clients with holistic financial planning guidance focused on helping them achieve their retirement goals.
Session Four Speakers
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Reimagining Campus Counseling Centers
As the mental health crisis continues to grow across the United States, so too has it severely impacted college and university students. College administrators have had to think strategically about finding new ways of serving the ever-growing population of students with mental health needs. Dr. Michele Nealon, president of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and Dr. Maureen O’Connor, president of Palo Alto University, will provide an overview of the mental health issues facing today’s students, as well as direct strategies institutions can implement to best serve its students.
Michele Nealon, Psy.D.
President, The Chicago School of Psychology
Dr. Nealon leads one of the most successful non-profit professional graduate schools in the nation, directing campuses across the country that educate more than 6,000 students in the fields of psychology and related behavioral sciences.
Session Five Speaker
12:15 – 2:00 p.m.
Facing Challenges and Finding Solutions for the Independent Higher Education Sector
Nationally and statewide, independent higher education is at a crossroads. Nonprofit colleges and universities—and, by extension, campus leaders—face both real and existential threats, from campus closures and mergers; to the toll of the pandemic on students, enrollment, and finances; to political attacks on both sides of the aisle. Alexandra Lozanoff, with WestEd, will moderate an interactive discussion with participants to curate the most pressing issues shared by campus leaders and jointly surface promising solutions. Ms. Lozanoff will utilize technology offered by ThoughtExchange, an event sponsor, to elicit—in real-time—the challenges that campus leaders are most eager to tackle. Participants will have the opportunity to generate strategies to collectively address those challenges in the short- and long-term. Help us chart the future of the independent higher education sector!
Alexandra Lozanoff
Senior Project Manager, Postsecondary Education & Workforce Development, WestEd
Alexandra Lozanoff is a Senior Project Manager in Postsecondary Pathways and Career Mobility at WestEd. Alexandra provides technical assistance for postsecondary and workforce development clients to empower administrators, staff, and faculty to transform data into action that equitably improves outcomes for students.
NOTE: Speakers and schedules may change