Keynote: ReimagineU Change Accelerated
Farouk Dey, Vice Provost for Integrative Learning and Life Design, Johns Hopkins University
Susan deMuth, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations, Johns Hopkins University
Key Takeaways:
Connections and Community: The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the focus on connections and community that higher ed has seen over the last 10 years. While the education is important, institutions had previously recognized that the vastness of the university network was just as crucial to ensuring students thrived after graduation. With campuses currently closed, that community is more important than ever.
Social Mobility: The next ten years have to be about making those connections and communities accessible to everyone, regardless of circumstance or economic background. “Higher Education’s mission has always been about closing that gap and it is even more critical today in a post-COVID-19 world.”
Outcomes Over Inputs: Value in higher education has to be measured by the outcomes of our work rather than just what we put into it. “Outcomes meaning that we can't just look at how many people showed up to a thing, the numbers of engagement. We need to understand what has that engagement done for that person.”
“The connections and communities movement started out of the housing crash and economic downturn of 2008 when we realized that simply graduating students with degrees and knowledge is not enough. We need to connect them to opportunity and to one another and to people who can open doors for them.”
The democratization of the college and university community is more important than ever. Our keynote speakers challenged us to innovate and ensure that each and every student has access to the opportunities they need to thrive, even in these challenging times.
Visit our website to learn more about how we transform connections into opportunity.
