NEA's 28th Annual Higher Education Conference: Joint Conference with AFT Higher Education
March 26-28, 2010, in San Francisco, California
As you make your preparations for the upcoming NEA/AFT Joint Higher Education Conference, please be aware that there is a serious labor dispute taking place between the hotel workers union and most of the large hotel chains in San Francisco regarding negotiation of a new contract, including our conference hotel. The hotel employees in San Francisco have been working without a contract since August 14, 2009. We will not meet at the hotel if it remains in this labor dispute. We are in constant touch with the unions in San Francisco and are working daily to ensure that we have another great joint conference for our members. If the labor dispute continues, we will resolve our participation one way or the other in the very near future.
Until then this is what we recommend:.
- DO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE NOW.
- DO REGISTOR FOR THE HOTEL NOW.
- BUT HOLD OFF ON YOUR TRAVEL RESERVATIONS, if possible, until you have heard back from us
We will post notice on this website and inform registrants directly through a RegOnline notice when this matter is fully resolved. Please check our higher ed website regularly or contact us at highered@nea.org or 202/822-7162 with questions.
Mark your calendar and join us for NEA’s 28th annual higher education conference, Friday-Sunday, March 26-28, 2010, in San Francisco, California, at the historic Palace Hotel. NEA’s 28th annual higher education conference will take place as part of the Joint NEA-AFT Higher Education Conference. Leadership Day is Thursday, March 25th.We invite members to participate in our joint pre-conference sessions on Leadership Day, Thursday, March 25, as well.
Our conference theme, “Advancing Higher Education in Unpredictable Times,” reflects the volatility and impact of state, national, and international economic and political developments on our higher education institutions and workforce. We will feature three main workshop tracks: collective bargaining/union management, policy and public support, and teaching and learning/professional development. We’ll explore questions of interest to all sectors of our membership, such as:
- What are the current and anticipated trends in higher ed, and how are our locals dealing with them at the bargaining table?
- How are our campuses and our unions/associations dealing with crisis response preparation and campus security issues?
- What issues are front and center for contingent faculty? For Academic and Education Support Professional staff?
- How is privatization playing out in our higher education institutions?
- How do we build support for public investment in higher education and the higher education workforce? What’s an effective message to generate this support? What do state policymakers say about public funding?
- What are effective strategies for teaching online and managing disruptive students?
- What are the latest developments in our community and technical colleges?
ANNOUNCING the plenary speakers for the NEA/AFT joint 2010 higher education conference
Our Friday evening, March 26, 2010, our keynote speaker will be Melissa Harris-Lacewell.
Dr. Harris-Lacewell is Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, (Princeton 2004), and she is currently at work on a new book: Sister Citizen: A Text For Colored Girls Who've Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn't Enough (forthcoming, Yale University Press). Professor Harris-Lacewell appears regularly on MSNBC. She regularly provides expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender concerns for both The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Professor Harris-Lacewell is also a regular guest on other television and radio. Her writings have appeared in newspapers throughout the country and she is a regular contributor at TheNation.com. In 2009 Professor Harris-Lacewell became the youngest scholar to deliver the W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures at Harvard University. Also in 2009, she delivered the prestigious Ware Lecture, becoming the youngest woman to ever do so. Professor Harris-Lacewell received her B.A. in English from Wake Forest University, her Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, and an honorary doctorate from Meadville Lombard Theological School. She is currently a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Our Saturday, March 27, luncheon speaker will be Martha J. Kanter.
Martha J. Kanter was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 29, 2009, to be the under secretary of education and was confirmed by the Senate on June 19, 2009. In this position, she reports to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid. From 2003 to 2009, Kanter served as chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the nation. She established the first program for students with learning disabilities at San Jose City College, California. She then served as a director, dean and subsequently as vice chancellor for policy and research for the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office in Sacramento, returning to San Jose City College as vice president of instruction and student services in 1990. In 1993, she was named president of De Anza College and served in this position until becoming chancellor. Kanter holds a doctorate in organization and leadership from the University of San Francisco. She received her master's degree in education with a concentration in clinical psychology and public practice from Harvard University, and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Brandeis University.
Please note conference registration and hotel reservation deadlines and costs: Early bird conference registration will run through February 15, 2010, and costs $125 for NEA and AFT members. Nonmembers pay $200 through February 15th. Rates increase after February 15th to $150 and $250 for members and nonmembers, respectively. In addition, the charge for Leadership Day is $45. Conference registration covers all meals and breaks (except Saturday dinner) as well as conference materials. Online registration will end at close of business, Friday, March 5, 2010. After that, you will need to register for the conference onsite.
We urge you to register for our joint conference and to get your hotel reservations as soon as possible. PLEASE NOTE: The Palace Hotel will guarantee the conference rate of $189 plus tax per night for single and double occupancy through March 2, 2010 only.
