Plenary Sessions
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
11:00 am – 11:15 am | Welcome and Opening Prayer
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Sr. Andrea Lee, IHM, President, Alverno College, and Chair, ACCU Board of Directors
11:15 am – 12:15 pm | Plenary I: Healing the Soul of a Nation: The Challenge of Racial Justice
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Description:
A leading Catholic theologian addresses the thorny issue of racial justice past and present. He will speak from an abiding conviction that the Catholic faith and the Black experience make essential contributions in the continuing struggle against racial injustice that is the work of all people.
Rev. Bryan Massingale, Professor of Theology, Fordham University
Moderator: Julie Sullivan, President, University of St. Thomas (MN)
3:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Plenary II: Moment to See, Courage to Act
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Preceded by presentation of the ACCU Presidents' Distinguished Service Award to Denise J. Doyle, Provost Emerita, University of the Incarnate Word, by Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, CM, President, ACCU
Description:
“This is the moment to see the poor.” These April 2020 words of Pope Francis call out the multiple crises that the disadvantaged face, which, though starkly laid bare by COVID-19, are longstanding and enduring. Catholic colleges and universities are especially well-equipped to engage these profound justice issues – when we find the courage to act.
Marie Lynn Miranda, Provost, University of Notre Dame
Moderator: Deanne Horner D’Emilio, President, Gwynedd Mercy University
Sponsored by Collegis Education
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6
11:00 am – 11:15 am | Welcome and Opening Prayer
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Bishop John M. Quinn, Chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Working Group on Higher Education; Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (MN)
Introduction by Rev. Mark Poorman, CSC, President, University of Portland
11:00 am – 11:15 am | Plenary III: The New Administration and Its Impact on Higher Education
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Preceded by presentation of the ACCU Monika K. Hellwig Award to M. Shawn Copeland, Professor Emerita, Department of Theology, Boston College, by Mary Finger, President, Seton Hill University
Description:
The ushering in of a new administration will reverse Trump-era developments and potentially result in dramatic shifts in higher education policies. Areas as widespread as free tuition, loan forgiveness, Title IX procedures on the adjudication of sexual abuse, foreign student admission, research priorities, and support for undocumented students are all in play. Two of the nation’s foremost experts will discuss the widespread implications of the recent election for private higher education.
Barbara Mistick, President, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
Terry Hartle, Senior Vice President, American Council on Education
Moderator: David Livingston, President, Lewis University
3:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Plenary IV: The Future of American Higher Education
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Preceded by presentation of the ACCU Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC Award to Br. James Gaffney, FSC, President Emeritus, Lewis University, by Sr. Andrea Lee, IHM, President, Alverno College, and Chair, ACCU Board of Directors
Description:
Dr. Levine will present his perspective on the effects of America’s changing demographics, economics, and technology as three forces with the capacity to transform America’s colleges and universities, cautioning that “the disruptive changes occurring in present-day society haven’t been seen since the Industrial Revolution. One of the consequences of this kind of change is that all of our social institutions — not just colleges, its government, its healthcare, its media — all appear to be broken. They were all built for a different time, and they don’t work as well as they once did.”
Arthur Levine, The Steinhardt Institute of Higher Education Policy, New York University
Moderator: Gerry Turcotte, President, Saint Mary’s University (Canada)
Closing Remarks
Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, CM, President, ACCU
