Dr. Ruha Benjamin
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Opening Plenary Address Speaker: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Reimagining Opportunity: Higher Education as a Catalyst for Collective Advancement
This opening plenary will explore the interdependence of imagination, humanity, and bold social vision in our path forward to an educated and civically minded society. Through the lens of shared prosperity and opportunity, this session will challenge attendees to envision higher education as a catalyst for social progress and systemic change, driving community transformation and fostering a collective commitment to a more equitable future.
Speaker: Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Professor, Department of African American Studies, Princeton University; Founding Director, Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab
Panelists:
She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Marguerite Casey Foundation Freedom Scholar Award and the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton. In 2024 she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellowship. Dr. Benjamin holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Links to information on Benjamin:
Seven Things We Learned From Ruha Benjamin
Ruha Benjamin Challenges Society to Dream of a Better World in New Book
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| Dr. Ethan Mollick |
Morning Plenary Session: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, 9:00–10:15 a.m.
AI in the Classroom: Revolutionizing Teaching, Learning, and Student Success
This plenary session will delve into the future of AI and its innovation in higher education. Focused on practical and faculty-friendly insights, the discussion will explore how AI can enhance teaching and learning, support faculty creativity, and improve student outcomes. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how AI-driven advancements are shaping education, technology, and the workforce and how these changes can empower educators and institutions to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape. Attendees will discover strategies for integrating AI into classrooms and campuses while preserving the humanity and creativity that define impactful teaching.
Speaker: Dr. Ethan Mollick, Innovation Expert and Artificial Intelligence Thought Leader; Professor of Entrepreneurship, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Panelists:
Dr. Ethan Mollick is the Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar and associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies the effects of artificial intelligence on work, entrepreneurship, and education. His academic research has been published in leading journals, and his work on AI is widely applied, leading him to be named one of TIME magazine’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence. His book Co-Intelligence is a New York Times bestseller.
In addition to his research and teaching, Dr. Mollick is the co-director of the Generative AI Labs at Wharton, which build prototypes and conduct research to discover how AI can help humans thrive while mitigating risks. Dr. Mollick received his Ph.D. and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
 Dr. Karen A. Stout |
Morning Plenary Session: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, 9:00–10:15 a.m.
Framework for Progress: Strategies for Mobility and Community Vibrancy
Description: This plenary session will focus on fostering vibrant communities by creating equitable pathways to social and economic security. Participants will explore how higher education can collaborate with local partners to enhance community vibrancy, expand equal access, and drive social mobility. Emphasizing the critical role of data, the discussion will highlight how insights can inform and strengthen efforts to build inclusive and thriving communities. Attendees will learn how institutions can leverage their resources and expertise to create a future where all community members achieve lasting social and economic success.
Speaker: Dr. Karen A. Stout, President and CEO, Achieving the Dream
Panelists:
Dr. Karen A. Stout is president and CEO of Achieving the Dream (ATD), leading a national network of community colleges focused on whole-college transformation that directly addresses inequitable outcomes for students. She was named the American Association for Women in Community College’s Woman of the Year and one of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s Leading Women, Washington Monthly’s 16 most innovative higher education leaders, Washingtonian’s 500 most influential people in 2023, and Ed Tech’s 30 higher education IT influencers to follow in 2023. She is the recipient of the Robert Zemsky Medal for Innovation in Higher Education, among many recognitions.
Dr. Stout serves as chair of the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research Advisory Board at North Carolina State University, as co-chair of the University of Maryland Global Campus Doctorate of Management in Community College Policy and Administration Advisory Board, and is a member of the Community College Research Center Presidents Advisory Board, Common App Board of Directors, and College Promise National Advisory Board. In 2022, Dr. Stout was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate to serve a six-year term as a member of the National Council on the Humanities.
Before joining ATD in 2015, Dr. Stout was president of Montgomery County Community College. Upon leaving the college, the Board granted her President Emerita status and named the student success center in her honor. A frequent speaker and writer, Dr. Stout focuses on strategies for enhancing student success, equity and completion; accelerating and scaling innovation; advancing next generation metrics; and launching a new era of community college fundraising.
Denice Frohman
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Megan Red Shirt-Shaw
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Closing Plenary Session: Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, 10:15 AM–11:30 a.m.
Empowering Students for Inclusion and Collective Advancement
This closing plenary will emphasize the critical responsibility of higher education leaders and faculty in preparing students to become active, engaged contributors to society and the workforce. Focused on uplifting students' voices, identities, and cultural perspectives, this session will offer practical strategies to ensure higher education remains a powerful driver for opportunity and inclusive societal progress.
Speaker: Denice Frohman, Poet and Performer, Youth Mentor
Speaker: Megan Red Shirt-Shaw (Oglala Lakota), Educator, Writer, and Higher Education Expert
Passionate about Indigenous rights issues, college admissions, and greater Native presence in media and higher education, Megan Red Shirt-Shaw believes in empowering young people to use their voices for the issues they care about in their communities.
Megan is currently the Director of Native Student Services at the University of South DakotaShe also was elected, in 2021, to serve a 7 year term on Harvard University's Board of Overseers, one of two governing bodies that plays an integral role in the governance of Harvard. Megan is the author of the powerful policy paper, Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: College “LAND BACK” or Free Tuition for Native Students. Megan earned her Bachelor’s from the University of Pennsylvania in English and her Master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Higher Education.