Presidents’ Report for January 2024

Academy members I hope that you have had an enjoyable holiday season and semester break while finding time to rest, recreate, and reflect on the many blessing we enjoy in our lives. Like many of you, a blessing I’ve have been thinking about this month is the importance of connections with family and close friends. I enjoy the opportunity to celebrate and gather with family and friends during this time of year. Children, grandkids, friends, and extended family all help me stay grounded. They help me find time to remember to pause and focus on what is really important. In many ways this is analogous with Process Educations’ focus on Reflection and Assessment.

At the recent Annual Winter Meeting the board members gathered at the University of Indianapolis in person and virtually. While there we spent time reflecting about the current status and future of the Academy. We heard reports about the Mentoring Skills project and reviewed progress on Conference planning. There was some deep thinking, reflection, and discussion about the level of participation of Academe members in the programs and projects we offer. Most of us gathered there felt the level of participation was either Constant with little to No Change or Low and Declining. As a Board we reflected about how we might stabilize or increase participation. We want to enhance communication with our members. And we want to listen to you as well. These conversations were the beginning of what I hope will be some concrete actions we can begin to take to engage more actively with our members.

During the meeting the Board also tackled a systemic review of our Strategic Plan and Goals. The intent was to create updates to the plan and sharpen our focus on goals that had been established in 2020. This assessment will continue into the February board meeting and beyond with the goal to present an updated Strategic Plan and Goals at the annual Conference in June 2024. Finally, we reviewed current plans for the Conference and established a framework for those planning goals yet to be articulated. Behind the scenes, work has also been completed by our Webmasters to correct some issues with the Conference Web page. The website is functioning and available for you to register for the Summer Conference and Institute to be held at the University of Indianapolis June 10-13. Additional updates will be completed soon.

As you can see, the Board accomplished quite a bit in one day through the use of both assessment and reflection. I want to thank our host Dr. Steve Spicklemire for providing us with a fantastic space to host the meeting and also for giving us a close-up look at the amazing facilities they will be sharing with us during the Summer Conference. I am certain their well-planned spaces, technology, and support will blow you all away! More info on the Conference will be shared in next month’s Newsletter. Until then, please get registered for the conference, submit a proposal for a session and get prepared for an exciting experience focused on the Use of AI as yet another tool to enhance and expand our understanding of the power of Process Education. Until then stay warm and have a fruitful spring semester.