NACADA > Events > Annual Conference > Conference Highlights

ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

1. NACADA Global Awards Ceremony
2. Welcome Reception
3. Advising Communities
4. Region/Global Updates and Connection Time
5. Best of Region/Global Winners
6. Keynote Speaker
7. Common Reading
8. Volunteer Opportunities
9. Health and Wellness Events
10. Service Project
11. Conference Attire

NACADA GLOBAL AWARDS CEREMONY

The Global Awards Ceremony honors the people, programs, and institutions making significant contributions to the field of academic advising. The ceremony will be held on Thursday, October 5 beginning at 5 pm. The awards ceremony is invitation only.

WELCOME RECEPTION

Join us for a magical evening of lively music, tasty food, various performers strolling the venue, and photobooth opportunities during this year’s Welcome Reception! The reception will begin at 8 pm on Wednesday after the General Session and Keynote Address at Rosen Shingle Creek. Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to connect with other NACADA conference participants and enjoy all the entertainment planned by the conference committee!

ADVISING COMMUNITIES

Be sure to attend the Advising Community Fair on Friday, October 6 from 8-9 am.

Learn what is going on in the Advising Communities Division - projects, activities, listserv discussions, new initiatives!
Volunteer to help with activities or serve on a committee within the Advising Communities Division.
Consider running for leadership positions within the Advising Communities.
Meet and collaborate with colleagues on future conference presentations or articles for the Clearinghouse or Academic Advising Today.
Attend a 'Hot Topics' session presented by various Advising Communities.

REGION/GLOBAL UPDATES AND CONNECTION TIME

The Region/Global Updates and Connection Time will kick off the conference beginning on Wednesday, October 4 from 5-6 pm.

Join us during the Region and Global updates and connection time to discuss issues and topics that affect your region, meet your steering committee and other leaders, network with colleagues, hear about upcoming initiatives and events, and learn how to get more involved in NACADA. All participants are welcome!

BEST OF REGION WINNERS

Congratulations to the Best of Region Winners from the 2023 Conferences. Be sure to check out these excellent presentations.

Region 1: The Power and Art of Nudging
Kal Srinivas, Syracuse University

Region 2: How to Break Bad News to Students - Lessons Learned From Our Friends in Healthcare
Karen Meister, Virginia Commonwealth University

Region 3: Student Burnout: A Higher Education Perspective
Stacie Aldrich and Michelle Moreno, Full Sail University

Region 4: The Joy of Advising: Bob Ross Inspired Life Lessons for Advisors and Students
Rachel Daniel and Kip Hubbard, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Region 5: Proactive Advising According to Leslie Knope
Leslie Marlatt, Manchester University

Region 6: Developing Effective Learners: The Role of Advisors in Supporting Student Academic Success
Margaret Kaus, Anat Levtov, and Liz Lundberg, University of Iowa

Region 7: Put Me in, COACH! I am Ready to Advise!
Kaytie Brozek and Angela Scott, Wichita State University

Region 8: The 5 Whys Technique: Examining Bottlenecks, Failures, and Snafus in Life, Work, and Advising
Sarah May Clarkson, Highland High School

Region 9: From Imposter to I'm Possible: Defining and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Christina Jackson, University of California-Davis

Region 10: Electronic Portfolios (E-Portfolios): Why Every Advising Professional Should Have One
Shalece Nuttall, Utah Valley University

2023 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Opening Keynote Speaker: Dr. Tia Brown McNair

The opening keynote address will be live-streamed!

Dr. McNair-Keynote Speaker

Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).

Closing Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ryan Duffy

Dr. Ryan Duffy

Dr. Ryan Duffy is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida. His research and teaching focuses mainly on factors that promote happiness and well-being, especially in the workplace. He is the author of 135 peer reviewed journal articles, a book entitled Make Your Job a Calling (Templeton Press, 2012), and is currently the Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Vocational Behavior, the premier scholarly journal for studies on career choice, career development, and work adjustment. For the last 14 years, Dr. Duffy has taught an upper-level undergraduate course to thousands of students entitled Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness, one of the most popular courses in the university. Finally, perhaps most importantly, he has two young children (ages 5 and 2), who aren’t very interested in his advice.

COMMON READING

Join fellow participants on Thursday, October 5 from 12:15-1:15 pm in Panzacola H-1, Rosen Shingle Creek for the common reading "Mindset Messaging: Fostering Student Support and Confidence through Micro-Messaging in Advisor Communication" by Sarah Blanchard Kyte, Elizabeth Collins, and Regina Deil-Amen. NACADA Journal (2020) 40 (1): 36-48. Click here for the full article.

As academic advisors and administrators, we often send encouraging messages to students. The way the information is presented, however, can affect the degree to which students perceive a sense of support and feel confidence in their own ability to succeed, learn, and develop. The authors of this year’s Common Reading article examine how advisors’ micro-messaging in routine communications can cultivate a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006) among students, especially as the students encounter challenges on their educational journeys. Join this year’s Common Reading session to discuss how students’ levels of confidence, agency, and support are influenced by embedding micro-messages that acknowledge effort, strategy, help-seeking, and the commonality of some challenges.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

The conference can not be done without our volunteers! Please sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45AEAC22A7FDC34-2023.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS EVENTS

1-5K NACADA Fun Walk/Run
Join us for a 1-5K fun walk/run on Friday, October 6 beginning at 6:30 am at the Gatlin Terrace of Rosen Shingle Creek. Additional details are provided below.

$15 per participant; includes a medal
Registration will open no later than Friday, September 8

Wellness Room
Do you need time and space to process the amazing amount of information you received at the annual conference? Do you enjoy networking but need a break to recharge? Do you practice a religion requiring prayer at specific times? If so, we encourage you to enjoy the NACADA annual conference wellness room. Located in St Johns 22, the wellness room provides the opportunity to step outside the hustle and bustle of the conference and relax in a room with adult coloring books, playing cards, silicone poppers, and puzzles. Self-care revives us and reminds us to model it for others. Come on in and take care of YOU! The wellness room is available during conference registration hours.

By participating in NACADA health and wellness activities, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of NACADA’s release of liability form for participants in voluntary recreational and fitness activities.

NACADA SERVICE PROJECT

We hope you will join us in support of this year’s NACADA Annual Conference Service Project as we help local K-12 students and teachers through the gift of giving. A Gift for Teaching has been selected as this years' service project.

Donate Here!

Students need supplies to learn. Teachers need tools to teach. Please join NACADA as we fundraise for A Gift for Teaching and their local community's education needs. On a mission to provide educational resources that empower teachers to inspire future leaders, A Gift for Teaching envisions a future where every student has the tools and experiences to succeed.

More than 70% of public schools in Central Florida are considered high-need schools. It's hard to focus on learning, let alone think about your future when you don't have the supplies you need to complete your schoolwork.

Proudly serving public schools in Orange and Osceola Counties as the primary provider of free supplies to teachers for their classrooms and students, A Gift for Teaching provides opportunities for local educators to shop for free essentials at a store, online, and through a mobile unit so that learning can occur for all.

Every $1 received can be transformed into $10 worth of school supplies! Monetary donations can be submitted online using this secure form – payment data is encrypted and backed by DonorPerfect.

Donations of school supplies can also be collected in-person at the conference at the NACADA Hospitality Desk.

Top 5 Essential Supplies are:

#2 Pencils
Dry Erase Markers
Notebooks (Composition or Spiral)
Block Erasers
Loose Leaf Paper

Donate today and help A Gift for Teaching fulfill their mission of providing educational resources that empower teachers to inspire future leaders.

PREPARING AND PACKING FOR CONFERENCE

Comfortable and casual best describe the "dress code" at NACADA's 2023 Annual Conference. Wear comfortable shoes as conference venues tend to be extremely large! Join the fun on School Spirit Day and see how many different schools are represented by wearing a polo or t-shirt from your institution on Thursday, October 5.