Welcome

Teaching Students the ‘Good Life’

In January 2018, Yale University professor Laurie Santos started a course, “Psychology and the Good Life.” The class quickly became the institution’s most popular in its 300-year history. Since then, Santos has gone on to create an online version of the class that has reached more than 4 million people globally and started a podcast on happiness. In this session, the professor will discuss why students were so attracted to her course, what that may mean for what and how colleges teach today, and what tips she has for supporting student well-being in a time of social and economic uncertainty.

Reframing the Role of AI in Learning from Skepticism to Support
Sponsor Segment presented by Gemini for Education

To build trust with students, institutions must shift from AI skepticism to supportive, active learning frameworks. This session explores the "human-in-the-lead" model, demonstrating how educators can move beyond scrutinizing AI output to guide the learning process itself. Join us to discover how integrating AI as a scaffold for critical thinking—rather than a threat to academic integrity—drives student retention, fosters AI literacy, and restores agency in an evolving digital classroom.

Curiosity as Bridge Builder

Students report that campus conversations about controversial subjects can be challenging, with many reluctant to speak up. According to a survey by the Knight Foundation and Ipsos, two in three students say self-censorship limits campus discussion. Mónica Guzmán wants to change that. In her new book, I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, the journalist wants to show people how to learn from those we disagree with and use curiosity as a tool to build bridges.

The Future of AI and Technical Learning: Building AI Fluency on Campus
Sponsor Segment presented by Google Cloud

As technology accelerates, the average half-life of a skill has shrunk to just 2.5 years, widening the technical skills gap. This session explores two major survey studies commissioned by Google, with insights from over 20,000 interviews on the current state of AI readiness, and introduces the five pillars of modern technical learning: Centralized, Personalized, Expert, Gamified, and Hands-on. Discover how deploying an enterprise-grade AI ecosystem can break down data silos and accelerate AI literacy. We will conclude with a short demonstration of a custom agents powered by Gemini Enterprise, showcasing how to bring secure, personalized, and interactive AI experiences directly to the campus, with no code.

The Future of DEI

This year, Emelyn A. dela Peña became the new president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, an organization with an embattled membership facing a confusing legal landscape surrounding what the government classifies as illegal DEI. The association has successfully fought some administration policies, while continuing to face multiple challenges at the federal and state level to how colleges have approached diversity work. In this session, dela Peña will discuss the future of campus DEI efforts, how the landscape is changing, and why it is essential that diversity officers be more explicit about their goals.

Reengaging the Disengaged

Many teens are detached from their classes and education, “simultaneously bored and overwhelmed,” writes Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop in The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better. What can staff and faculty members do to better connect students with learning and campus experiences? In this session, Winthrop will offer insights from her book, tips for working with checked-out students, and her ideas for the right way colleges should teach artificial intelligence.

Closing

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