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STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION FOR PUBLIC HIGHER ED:

2019 AASCU COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE FOR SENIOR PROFESSIONALS

American Associationof State Colleges andUniversities

Delivering America’s Promise

EVOLVING TO MEET OUR TIMES

MARCH 19-21, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C.

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION FOR PUBLIC HIGHER ED:

2019 AASCU COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE FOR SENIOR PROFESSIONALS

EVOLVING TO MEET OUR TIMES

AASCU COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM2

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Conference Planning Committee, I’d like to welcome all of you to AASCU’s Communications Conference for Senior Professionals. We know you will be glad you decided to attend. I know I’m not alone in wanting to work together with higher education communicators to address the myriad of issues facing us. Advancing our institutions’ agenda and demonstrating the value of public higher education is a challenge during these tumultuous times. We’ll open our conference with a dynamic speaker, Elizabeth Scarborough Johnson of Simpson Scarborough, who will share her insights into how public colleges are evolving to meet our times. Additionally, we are fortunate to have secured Jamal Watson, Executive Editor of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, who knows what the hot button issues are, what’s been said about them and what conversations we as communicators can anticipate arising. We’ll also learn from colleagues in Ohio and Washington State about collaborative advocacy campaigns to educate the public and to promote the value of our public colleges and universities. From the Pew Research Center and AASCU, we will learn about the public’s perception of higher education and important policy issues.

Sessions include:• Social media panel• Insights into managing Millennial and Gen Z populations• Creating a teachable moment around a controversial speaker• Using student storytellers to be your college’s ambassadors• How direct executive engagement with stakeholders works

And we know that past participants will agree that the opportunity to share ideas with colleagues (who soon become friends) from across the country is a huge bonus. The professional network you leave with will help you and your college. We want to thank the AASCU communications staff, particularly Jennifer Walpole, director of communications, who jumped into new territory to help us make this conference happen. To borrow a phrase from last year’s conference chair John Kowalewski: “We believe it is the power of our participants that makes this such a wonderful conference.” Thank you for bringing your power to our conference.

Kathy Coley Chair, Conference Planning Committee Senior Director of Communications, Institutional Advancement, Farmingdale State College, SUNY, Farmingdale, N.Y.

AASCU COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM 3

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to Washington, D.C., and to the 2019 AASCU Communications Conference for Senior Professionals! This conference is designed especially for you—the chief communications officer at an AASCU member institution. We began holding this conference 12 years ago because we recognized that communicators at state colleges and universities needed a forum that specifically explored the challenges and opportunities unique to our sector. We also wanted a way for you to connect with and learn from colleagues in your role at other AASCU institutions. We hope that in addition to learning and enjoying the sessions themselves, you’ll also take the time to get to know the other conference attendees. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to exchange ideas; share best practices; and learn about new, innovative and exciting ways to approach our work. This conference is made possible because of the tremendous effort of our incredible planning committee, chaired by Kathy Coley, senior director of communications at Farmingdale State College (N.Y.). The stellar program we have lined up for you is the result of their dedication over the past year, and I truly can’t thank them enough. I’d also like to thank Kate Maine, chief of staff at the University of North Georgia, for her continued service as chair of the AASCU Advisory Council for Communications and Public Affairs, and for her longstanding support of AASCU and this conference. We look forward to not only learning with you over the course of the next two days, but to continue supporting you in your role once you return to campus. We have a host of opportunities to showcase the amazing things you’re doing, and we can’t wait to further shine a spotlight on your institution. We are delighted you are here!

Jennifer WalpoleDirector of Communications, AASCU


ProgramTuesday, March 19

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Registration

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Welcome & Introductions

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. The Performance Imperative: Higher Ed Trends and How to Tackle ThemHigher ed marketing and communications departments in 2019 look very different than they did in 2009. The way we communicate, the way we’re organized, and the role we play in our institutions have changed dramatically. In the last decade, we’ve built social media teams, adopted videographers as essential members of our departments, embraced the concept of storytelling, and elevated our lead marketers to the C-suite. We’ve also endured increasing skepticism regarding the value of a college degree, watched crisis after crisis unfold on our campuses, and begun recruiting an entirely new and different generation of students who are highly price sensitive and the first true digital natives. What will the next 10 to 20 years bring? What will higher ed marketers and communicators look like in 2029? What will we (should we!) stop doing and start doing? What type of leadership will we need? What responsibilities will be our priority? How will our performance be measured and evaluated? In this session, we’ll tie together current trends and indicators to paint a picture of the future and describe how you can thrive in spite of the seismic shifts occurring in the higher ed landscape.

Presenter: Elizabeth Scarborough, CEO and Partner, Simpson Scarborough

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Break

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Party Polarization in Public Perception of Higher EducationIn recent years, there have been an array of polls exploring public perceptions of higher education. Some polls have revealed a clear partisan divide on the value of higher education, while others present a more nuanced picture. This session will examine recent national polls on higher education and include a discussion from those within and beyond higher education on public perceptions of higher education today. In addition, panelists will discuss how campus and system government relations professionals and others can best respond to these polls in a way that ultimately improves higher education’s standing among the public and lawmakers.

Presenters: Juliana Horowitz, Associate Director, Research, Pew Research Center Thomas L. Harnisch, Director of State Relations and Policy Analysis, AASCU


12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Networking Lunch

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. Title IX Changes—What Makes Sense and Why May Depend on Your OutlookTwo nationally recognized experts in higher education law will discuss Title IX from liberal and conservative points of view. These experts also will discuss recent changes to Title IX by the current administration and, most importantly, the impact and/or potential impact of those changes on public colleges and universities.

Presenters: Joe Storch, Associate Counsel, State University of New York Office of General Counsel Bill Thro, Chief Legal Counsel, University of Kentucky Office of Legal Counsel First

2:15 – 2:30 p.m. Break

2:30 – 3:15 p.m. First session: Teaming Up to Move Your State Forward? Two Case Studies of Statewide AdvocacyPresenters from institutions in Ohio and Washington will discuss how public university communicators worked together to develop statewide campaigns that moved public higher education advocacy forward. In Ohio, 14 public university communications officers worked together for a year to develop a year-long campaign that reminded voters in a midterm election year that Ohio needs to support its public universities and that the value of a college degree remains a worthy investment. In Washington, the University of Washington and Washington State University launched the “Yes, It’s Possible” campaign, designed to reverse the troubling trend of students and families not believing higher education is even an option. Attendees will learn how to develop statewide campaigns and the benefits of partnerships between state colleges and universities.

Presenters: Rob A. Spademan, Associate VP, Marketing and Communications, Cleveland State University (Ohio) Dave Kielmeyer, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Bowling Green State University (Ohio)

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.Break


3:30 – 4:30 p.m.Second session: Teaming Up to Move Your State Forward? Two Case Studies of Statewide AdvocacyPresenters from institutions in Ohio and Washington will discuss how public university communicators worked together to develop statewide campaigns that moved public higher education advocacy forward. In Ohio, 14 public university communications officers worked together for a year to develop a year-long campaign that reminded voters in a midterm election year that Ohio needs to support its public universities and that the value of a college degree remains a worthy investment. In Washington, the University of Washington and Washington State University launched the “Yes, It’s Possible” campaign, designed to reverse the troubling trend of students and families not believing higher education is even an option. Attendees will learn how to develop statewide campaigns and the benefits of partnerships between state colleges and universities.

Presenters: Jack Martin, Assistant Vice President for Communications, University of Washington Holly Sitzmann, Executive Director of Strategic Communications, Washington State University

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception Toro Toro (located around the corner from the AASCU offices at 1300 I St NW, Washington, DC 20005) Wednesday, March 20

8:15 – 9:15 a.m. Moderated Roundtable Discussions & Buffet Breakfast

9:30 - 10:45 a.m.The Importance & Impact of Inclusive Communications One of the nation’s leading journalists for covering higher education stories of inclusion, respect and celebration shares his advice for featuring diverse perspectives in recruitment and public relations projects. Hear the types of media pitches that will earn your school coverage from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, as well as insights into the demographics of America’s college-age population and trends at U.S. colleges and universities making strides in supporting students from all walks of life.

Presenter: Jamal Watson, Executive Editor, Diverse: Issues In Higher Education


10:45 – 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Breaking News: U Tell it FirstMore than an internal newsletter, @theU is a visually engaging online news hub for students, faculty and staff at the University of Utah. Distributed to an internal audience of roughly 75,000, @theU helps the university tell its own stories first, amplifies critical messages, highlights groundbreaking research, promotes interesting events and serves the university’s goal of reducing the overall number of campus-wide emails. Attendees will learn why it’s important for a university to tell its story first, including how an internal newsletter can train and engage an audience, how departmental work can be syndicated for internal use, how to scale @theU to fit your needs, and lessons learned from navigating the intricate politics of campus-wide marketing and communications.

Presenter: Janelle Hanson, Managing Editor for @theU and Internal Communication Manager, University of Utah Marketing & Communications

12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. A Controversial Speaker Inspires a Teachable MomentThe cancellation of a controversial Evangelical speaker who preaches Genesis and that the Earth is 6,000 years old created a firestorm among the religious right and conservative legislators. The decision to cancel shouldn’t have occurred. But with a re-invitation and acceptance, University of Central Oklahoma built a “teachable moment” seminar in less than three weeks around the invited speaker. Linking national and regional experts and faculty, the seminar included sessions on First Amendment rights and freedom of speech; the accepted scientific method for scholarly research (including researching Genesis); and accommodating disparate voices on campus, from the religious right to LGBTQ.

Presenter: Mark Kinders, Ed.D., Vice President of Public Affairs, University of Central Oklahoma

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.Break


2:45 – 3:45 p.m. The Executive Voice in Today’s Tough ConversationsStudents, faculty, staff, donors, legislators and others want to hear directly from our presidents and chancellors. Filters are not tolerated as they once were. Yet stepping into a fraught conversation—either through social media or other conversational venues—carries unique risks for our leaders. How do we purposefully and strategically leverage the executive voice to achieve university aims while navigating strongly-held experiential and partisan divides?

Presenters: Jessica Darin, Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Genevieve Haas, Director of Executive Communications, University of Washington Erik Fallis, Associate Vice President, Dick Jones Communications (formerly Director of Executive Writing, California State University Office of the Chancellor)

3:45 – 4:00 p.m. Break

4:00 – 4:45 p.m.Leveraging Social Media Metrics to Advance Your Institution’s Communications Goals

Presenters: Sylvia Carson, Director of Communications, University of North Georgia Jaime North, Marketing Specialist and Web Editor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

4:45 – 5:00 p.m. Conference Wrap Up

Thursday, March 21

Editorial Visits to Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education Media visits will take place Thursday morning and will conclude before noon. Registration is required for these visits—conference attendees will receive a form to register for this activity. These visits are optional, but those who register are urged to honor their commitment to attend.


Sylvia Carson serves as the executive director of communications at University of North Georgia. In her role she leads the creative services, internal and external communications, social media, and media relations activities for all five campuses of the nearly 20,000 student university in northeast Georgia.

With more than 20 years of public relations and communications experience in the higher education and nonprofit sectors,

Carson cultivated her communications career in a variety of communications roles at Georgia Tech, Southern Polytechnic State University, Argonne National Laboratory, and Underwriters Laboratories.

A native of Gary, Ind., she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Butler University in Indianapolis and a master’s degree in journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Ill. She also attained her Accreditation in Public Relations in 2010.

Jessica Darin is the associate vice president and chief of staff to President Jeff Armstrong at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) San Luis Obispo in California. She is a senior advisor to the president and responsible for executive management and strategic oversight of presidential initiatives. She works closely with the president as well as with university stakeholders and external constituents to further the goals of the academic institution.

Prior to joining Cal Poly, Darin served for three years as deputy chief of staff for Chancellor Timothy P. White at the California State University system in Long Beach, Calif., focusing on policy initiatives and project management as well as strategic communication and messaging for the chancellor. Prior to that, she worked for seven years in the Chancellor’s Office at the University of California (UC) Riverside. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UC Riverside and a master’s degree in management from the University of Redlands.

Darin is the proud mother of two daughters, Amanda and Emily.

Communications Conference Bios


Erik Fallis is associate vice president of the RW Jones Agency. As a senior executive communications professional, Fallis develops and implements strategies to leverage the leadership voice in advancing college and university goals.

Fallis joined RW Jones after a decade at the chancellor’s office of the California State University (CSU). As speechwriter and director of executive writing, Fallis founded and led the team responsible for trustee, chancellor, executive vice chancellor and vice chancellor

communications. This followed previous CSU management roles in media relations and university operations.

Earlier experience includes work as a public affairs account executive for a California-based public relations firm and as a constituent affairs representative for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Fallis is a graduate of CSU San Bernardino with bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science. He earned a Master of Public Administration from CSU Long Beach and earned Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.

Genevieve Haas is director of executive communications for the University of Washington (UW), where she is the speechwriter for UW President Ana Mari Cauce and supports the University Marketing and Communications team. She has worked in public affairs for Northeastern University and Dartmouth College, supported large technology clients at WE Communications, and was U.S. Director of PR for SAGE Publications.

Janelle Hanson is a former journalist turned public relations specialist who loves writing engaging stories and is obsessed with showing how analytics can and should drive content. As managing editor for @theU, the University of Utah’s online campus news hub, she determines content strategy and helps craft stories around issues impacting the university and campuses across the nation.

She also manages internal communication for the University of Utah, including coordinating with Emergency Management teams regarding

university-wide messaging during crisis situations. She continues to focus on ways to improve campus communication.


Thomas L. Harnisch joined the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in 2007 and currently serves as director of state relations and policy analysis. His responsibilities include research, policy analysis and communication to the AASCU membership and other external stakeholder groups. He helps craft the AASCU Public Policy Agenda and plans the Higher Education Government Relations Conference. His research interests include state higher education finance, access, affordability and other state-

related higher education topics. His research and commentary have been cited in over 200 news articles, including in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Politico, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and numerous other media outlets and governmental entities.

Harnisch previously worked as a graduate assistant at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact in Minneapolis. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, and a doctorate from The George Washington University.

Juliana Menasce Horowitz is associate director of research at Pew Research Center. She is involved in all stages of the research process, including designing and managing major survey projects, developing questionnaires, analyzing polling data, writing reports and presenting survey results. She has conducted research and written on various social issues, including racial attitudes, cross-national views of gender equality, and the changing American family, and also has worked actively on the Center’s U.S. politics and global attitudes research

efforts. Before joining Pew Research Center in 2006, Horowitz worked at the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland. She received a doctorate in political science from the University of Maryland at College Park. Horowitz regularly presents findings from the Center’s studies to the policy and academic communities and has been interviewed by numerous domestic and international media outlets.


Dave Kielmeyer is the chief marketing and communications officer for Bowling Green State University (BGSU). He is responsible for leading BGSU’s branding, marketing and public relations strategies. He also oversees the university’s public broadcasting station, WBGU-TV.

Kielmeyer directed the in-house development and launch of the university’s brand update— “Belong. Stand Out. Go Far.” Now in its third year, the brand and accompanying multiplatform strategy

have helped drive enrollment growth and consecutively recruit the most academically prepared freshman classes in university history.

Before rising to his current position in 2015, Kielmeyer served as the university’s senior director of communications, with responsibility for public relations, internal communications and crisis communications.

Prior to joining BGSU in 2008, he was vice president of account services for FLS Marketing, a Toledo marketing and public relations firm, where he provided counsel on branding, advertising, marketing and public relations to a broad range of corporate, nonprofit and civic clients.

Mark Kinders is vice president for public affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), a metro-serving institution to Oklahoma City. A 34-year veteran of public higher education, he is a member of the UCO executive cabinet and involved in all institutional decisions. Among his direct responsibilities are public policy advocacy to Oklahoma’s Legislature and Congressional delegation, corporate and community relations, and special projects for the president.

Previously, Kinders served as the vice president for university relations at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, and as the public affairs and media relations officer at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF), with additional advocacy responsibilities in part-time assignment to the Office of the President of the University of Wisconsin System. Nationally, Kinders serves on and chaired the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Advisory Council on Communications and Public Affairs, represented AASCU to the Higher Education Government Relations Conference and chaired the 2014 national conference, and was an AASCU appointee to the national oversight committee for the Voluntary System of Accountability. He has been an invited presenter to scores of conferences to present on institutional accountability, advocacy strategies, media relations, strategic communications, crisis communications, strategic planning, branding and economic development outreach.

Kinders holds a bachelor’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, a master’s in history from the UWRF, a master’s in public affairs from the Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas.


Jack Martin serves as assistant vice president for communications for the University of Washington (UW) and is responsible for communications and messaging initiatives that highlight the UW’s contributions as one of the world’s great public research universities. In addition to strategic and executive communications, Martin’s portfolio includes storytelling, internal communications, issues management and digital and social media. He is a member of the Association of American Universities Public Affairs Steering

Committee and previously chaired the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Council on Strategic Communications.

Prior to joining the UW in 2015, Martin was director of strategic communications at the University of Kansas, overseeing institution-wide messaging, executive communications, social media and advertising. Before entering higher education communications, Martin served as director of strategic communications for Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, communications director for Congressman Dennis Moore, senior account executive at McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations in Nashville, and as a communications staff member in both the Kansas Legislature and Virginia General Assembly. He holds a master’s degree in public administration and a B.A. in political science, both from the University of Kansas.

In addition to clocking more cell phone hours in airports and rental cars than George Clooney in Up in the Air, Elizabeth Scarborough is a nationally recognized expert in the use of research to drive marketing and branding efforts. With over 20 years of experience conducting market research studies, she’s an industry leader in providing strategic solutions to colleges and universities.

An expert in survey instrument design, sampling plan development, data analysis, and the compilation and presentation of marketing

intelligence, Scarborough pioneered the use of customized research to inform college and university enrollment and marketing strategy.

She’s presented more than 200 workshops and papers at a veritable alphabet soup of higher education-related conferences and symposia and chaired the American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education from 2007 to 2011.

Scarborough believes that bringing everyone along is crucial to making long-term strategy work—and prides herself on getting everyone in the organization to sing the same tune, at the same time, in the same key. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from James Madison University (Va.) and an M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing from Fordham University (N.Y).


Holly Sitzmann serves as the executive director of strategic communications for Washington State University (WSU), one of the nation’s leading land grant institutions. She is responsible for the development of communication and marketing strategies that enhance the university’s reputation locally, nationally and internationally. Sitzmann’s portfolio includes news and media relations, graphic design, social and digital media, presidential communications, enrollment management marketing, and oversight

of Washington State Magazine and university events.

Prior to joining WSU, Sitzmann served as the director of the Drink Up initiative at the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), a nonprofit that teams with the private sector to help solve the nation’s childhood obesity crisis. Previous to PHA, Sitzmann was a director in Burson-Marsteller’s Washington, D.C., public affairs practice. There, she managed clients across many industries, delivering counsel and expertise in financial, executive and crisis communications and investor relations. Sitzmann also worked at Freddie Mac for nearly 12 years as a strategic communications director, collaborating with executive leadership on a broad range of issues, change management efforts and corporate initiatives. She holds an M.B.A. from American University and a B.A. in English literature from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Rob Spademan is associate vice president, communications and chief marketing officer at Cleveland State University (CSU). He is responsible for guiding the CSU brand and positioning the University for success through innovative communications and marketing programs. Spademan launched the “engaged learning” brand platform at CSU, now in its 10th year, helping to double the size of the freshmen class over that time. Innovative digital marketing and a robust social media presence are hallmarks of this mid-size

university’s marketing efforts.

Spademan teaches Marketing Strategy in the Executive M.B.A. program at CSU and has been an advisor to the CSU advertising team, participating in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition for eight years. He also serves as a public member of the National Advertising Review Board. Last year Crain’s Cleveland Business recognized him as a Chief Marketing Officer of the Year.


Joseph Storch (@JosephStorchNY) is an associate counsel in the SUNY Office of General Counsel and chair of the Student Affairs Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on student affairs, intellectual property, and campus safety. He also serves as principal investigator on more than $9.1 million in grants and external funding to support innovations in violence prevention and response on campuses and in the community. He oversees the SUNY Student Conduct Institute, which offers compliance and best practice training

to college staff engaged in response to violence and conduct violations.

Storch has provided live training to thousands of higher education professionals in over 25 U.S. states, manages a webinar series that reaches thousands of professionals annually; furnishes technical guidance to numerous education institutions, organizations, and associations; and provided expert testimony before the United States Senate. He regularly advises legislators and staff at the federal and state level on best practices in drafting and analyzing pending domestic and international campus violence prevention legislation.

In 2014, Storch received the Commissioner’s Award from the State University Police for contributions to safety on campus. In 2015, he served as a technical adviser to the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, developing comprehensive legislation enacted in July 2015 as Article 129-B of the Education Law (also called “Enough is Enough”) and has since served as principal author on guidance issued to implement that law. That same year, the National Association of College & University Attorneys awarded him its First Decade Award. Starting in 2016, he coordinates the SUNY’s Got Your Back program which has donated tens of thousands of comfort bags to victims and survivors of violence while educating thousands of students and community members. In 2017, the One Love Foundation recognized his work in relationship violence prevention with its Unsung Hero Award and in 2018 the Pride Center of the Capital Region awarded him its Straight But Not Narrow award. Storch serves as a member of the Appellate Division, Third Department Committee on Character and Fitness. He is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of SUNY Oswego where he served as vice president of the Student Association, of the University at Albany with a Masters of Public Policy, and of Cornell Law School where he served as moot court board chancellor. After graduating, he clerked for the New York State Appellate Division, 3rd Department. Storch serves as executive editor of the Student Affairs Compliance Report & Analysis and is the author of more than 60 articles and book chapters in law reviews, practitioner journals, and popular media, most centering around campus safety or copyright law. He is on the board of the Daughters of Sarah Nursing Foundation and is involved in fundraising for the Bethlehem Public Library.


William E. Thro is general counsel of the University of Kentucky, former solicitor general of Virginia, and recipient of the McGhehey Award for Education Law and the Kaplin Award for Higher Education Law & Policy Scholarship. Over the course of his career, he has served as chief legal officer for both a public flagship land grant research university and a public liberal arts college, litigated constitutional issues in the Supreme Court of the United States and lower appellate courts, and written extensively on constitutional law in education

contexts in both the United States and South Africa. Recently, he co-authored Title IX: The Transformation of Sex Discrimination in Education.

Dr. Jamal Watson is the executive editor of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, the nation’s oldest publication dedicated to reporting on diversity and access in higher education. Prior to his appointment as editor, Watson was a senior staff writer for Diverse and has written for the publication since 2005.

A graduate of Georgetown University, Watson holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Delaware,

and a master’s and doctoral degree from the W.E.B Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Watson is a member of numerous organizations including the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Education Writers Association.


Conference Planning Committee

Kathy Coley, Chair, Farmingdale State College, SUNY, Farmingdale, N.Y.

Brenda Lynne Alling, Washington State University, Vancouver, Wash.

David Henahan, Empire State College, State University of New York

Jennifer Walpole, AASCU, Washington, D.C.

John Burkhardt, University of Washington, Tacoma, Wash.

John Kowalewski, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah

Kate Maine, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, Ga.

Noah Rappahahn, California State University, Monterey Bay, Calif.

Robert Lopez, California State University, Los Angeles, Calif.

Rosalee Billingslea Rush, Stanislaus State, Turlock, Calif.

Program SponsorThank you to MediaTile for their generous support of this conference.

AASCU’s 400 public college and university members are found throughout the United States and in Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. We range in size from 1,000 students to 44,000. We are found in the inner city; in suburbs, towns and cities; and in remote rural America. We include campuses with extensive offerings in law, medicine and doctoral education—as well as campuses offering associate degrees to complement baccalaureate studies. We are both residential and commuter, and with online degrees as well. Yet common to virtually every member institution are three qualities that define its work and characterize our common commitments.

♦ We are institutions of access and opportunity. We believe that the American promise should be real for all Americans, and that belief shapes our commitment to access, affordability and educational opportunity, and in the process strengthens American democracy for all citizens.

♦ We are student-centered institutions. We place the student at the heart of our enterprise, enhancing the learning environment and student achievement not only through teaching and advising, but through our research and public service activities.

♦ We are “stewards of place.” We engage faculty, staff and students with the communities and regions we serve—helping to advance public education, economic development and the quality of life for all with whom we live and who support our work. We affirm that America’s promise extends not only to those who come to the campus but to all our neighbors.

We believe that through this stewardship and through our commitments to access and opportunity and to our students, public colleges and universities effectively and accountably deliver America’s promise. In so doing we honor and fulfill the public trust.


1307 New York Avenue, NW | Fifth Floor | Washington, DC 20005-4701ph 202.293.7070 | fax 202.296.5819 | aascu.org

American Associationof State Colleges andUniversities


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