Sunday, February 22, 2026

Registration Check-in Available
   11:30 AM-3:15 PM in the Ballroom Foyer, 2nd floor
   3:30-5 PM in the Hotel Lobby

Human Sciences Board & Management Team Lunch & Meeting

HS Board & Department Chairs Kick-off Meeting

Refreshment Break

Leadership Meetings

• Human Sciences Board
• Faculty Coordinators
• Department Chairs - View the schedule

Dinner on Your Own

Monday, February 23, 2026

Spirit Day! Wear your university gear.

Registration Check-in | Ballroom Foyer (2nd floor)

HS Board & Faculty Coordinators Breakfast & Meeting
This breakfast is for all HS Board members and current and incoming faculty coordinators. Breakfast will be available starting at 7:30 a.m. The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m.

Department Chair Meetings - View the schedule

Program, Department Chair, and Campus Coordinator Meetings

*Board liaisons will join program meetings from 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

• Department Chair Meetings - View the schedule
• Campus Coordinators
• Community Development
• Dietetics
• Early Care & Education
• Early Childhood & Family Policy
• Family & Community Services
• Family & Consumer Sciences Education
• Family Financial Planning
• Gerontology
• Youth Development

Welcome Lunch and Keynote

Do You Really Want a Culture of Learning Innovation?
Every school has a few innovation “pockets” to showcase.  From pioneering instructors to first-adopter technologists, innovation exists at most schools.  But disparate, silos of innovation likely are not enough to solve the ‘wicked’ problems education is facing anymore.  We need scalable, sustainable, intentional innovation impacting multiple streams of education context (like retention, content delivery, instruction, assessment, etc), if we want to stay relevant and successful as teaching and learning organizations.

Dr. Jeff Borden, former Chief Innovation Officer and current Dean of the School of Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University, will share his blueprint for such initiatives as leveraged in formal, higher education settings, so as to create a culture of Learning Innovation, at scale, across the entire organization.  Utilizing the latest frameworks from organizational psychology, creating efficiencies through strategic technology, and tapping into resources across multiple stakeholder groups, this methodology is comprehensive and attainable.  While re-imagining some old processes, strategic Learning Design and Innovation can help us move into the next century, helping solve some long-time problems and addressing others before they manifest.

Program, Department Chair, and Campus Coordinator Meetings

*Department chair liaisons will drop by from 3:30-3:45 p.m.

• Department Chair Meetings - View the schedule
• Campus Coordinators
• Humans Sciences Board
• Community Development
• Dietetics
• Early Care & Education
• Early Childhood & Family Policy
• Family & Community Services
• Family & Consumer Sciences Education
• Family Financial Planning
• Gerontology
• Youth Development

Transportation to the reception will be via the KC Streetcar

4:15 p.m. Depart: Ashley Schultz from the management team will meet attendees at the streetcar pick up and lead the group to the reception venue.

4:25 p.m. Depart: Morgan Jones and Amanda Burris from the management team will meet attendees at the streetcar stop and lead the group to the reception venue.

Check back for downloadable maps and more information about how to use the free streetcar to explore Kansas City.

Awards Reception & Celebration

The Rockhill Grille, 3rd floor Skyline Room
In a new location off-property, this event is a favorite among attendees! This is a casual cocktail hour with heavy hors d'oeuvres as we celebrate the contributions of our annual alliance award winners.

Dinner on Your Own

As groups make dinner plans, we will add them here.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Breakfast Buffet & General Session

Breakfast will be available starting at 7:45 a.m. The general session will begin at 8:15 a.m. in Ballroom EFG on the 2nd floor.

Check back to learn more about the plan for programming at breakfast.

9:45 - 11:45 AM

Refreshment Break at 10:30 AM

Program, Department Chair, Cabinet, and Campus Coordinator Meetings

• Department Chair Meetings - View the schedule
• Campus Coordinators
• Cabinet & Human Sciences Board
• Community Development
• Dietetics
• Early Care & Education
• Early Childhood & Family Policy
• Family & Community Services
• Family & Consumer Sciences Education
• Family Financial Planning
• Gerontology
• Youth Development

Lunch & Learns

Grab a boxed lunch and choose from a variety of learning opportunities. 

See full descriptions of the workshops

Teaching High-Quality 8-Week Courses: Design, Delivery, and Student Success

Presented by Cindy Miller, Texas Tech University

Building Community in Online Courses Through Team-Based Learning

Presented by Farhan Sadique, Kansas State University

AI Curious, Not AI Serious

Presented by Mel Sedlacek, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

1:30 - 5 PM

Refreshment Break at 3:15 PM

Program, Department Chair, and Campus Coordinator Meetings

• Department Chair Meetings - View the schedule
• Campus Coordinators, 1:30-3:00 PM
• Dietetics
• Early Care & Education
• Early Childhood & Family Policy
• Family & Community Services
• Family & Consumer Sciences Education
• Family Financial Planning
• Gerontology
• Youth Development
• HS Board + Dept. Chairs, 4:30-5:30 PM

Dinner on Your Own

• HS Board & Cabinet Dinner at Pierpont's in Union Station