Conference Sessions and Schedule

Plan your visit and your time while at the conference. Below is a published list of the conference sessions and schedule.

Sunday, November 9, 2014 
2:00 – 6:00 p.m Conference Registration & Check-In at The Dana on Mission Bay
Monday, November 10, 2014 – Day 1 
8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Conference Registration & Check-In at The Dana on Mission Bay
10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. alt Pre-Conference Workshop Schedule for Professionals New to Parent Programs
2:30 p.m. Buses Depart to San Diego Zoo
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. AHEPPP Conference Welcome/Kick-Off at World-Famous San Diego Zoo
4:45 – 5:00 p.m. Dinner and Welcome
7:30 – 8:00 p.m. Buses Return to The Dana on Mission Bay
Tuesday, November 11, 2014 – Day 2 
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 – 9:45 a.m.

Session I
Breaking Through the Barriers of Parenting Styles
(University of Minnesota)

Creating a Collaborative Campus Culture that Embraces Parent Involvement
(North Carolina State University and University of Arkansas)

9:55 – 10:40 a.m.

Session II
Parent and Family Orientation Programming
(NODA)

Impacting Student Success through Communication, Engagement, and Collaboration with Parents
(University of Tennessee)

10:50 – 11:35 a.m. Session III
Parent Advisory Boards: Enhancing Student Learning and the Campus Community
(San Diego State University and Miami University Ohio)

Purposeful Family Weekend Programming: Roundtable Discussions
(Vanderbilt University)
12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch & Keynote Speaker – Madeline Levine, Ph.D., Author and Parenting Expert
2:00 - 2:55 p.m. Break
3:00 – 3:45 p.m. Session IV
Parent to Parent: Using Facebook to Build Community and Virtually Connect Parents
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Implementing an Inaugural Parent and Family Orientation Program
(Purdue University)
3:55 – 4:40 p.m. Session V
From Start to Finish: Program Development for Spanish Speaking Family Members
(Northeastern Illinois University and Syracuse University)

Beyond Family Weekend: Expanding Parent and Family Programs
(Texas Tech University and Pacific University)
4:45 – 5:45 p.m.

Chocolate Reception powered by PechaKucha 

PechaKucha Logo

CAS Standards: Improving the Work You Do and Others’ Understanding of It
(University of Minnesota and Southern Methodist University)

Faculty, Fundraising and Food: The Dinner Dialogues Program
(University of South Carolina)

6:00 p.m. Dinner on Your Own. *Local dinner options will be provided at check-in and on Guidebook.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 – Day 3 
8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:45 – 10:30 a.m.

Session VI (Plenary)
Sexual Assault: How to Support Students and Parents
(Dr. Cathey Soutter, Southern Methodist Universit)

10:40 – 11:25 a.m. Session VII
Using Social Media to Engage, Inform, and Achieve Your Program Outcomes
(University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota)

Supporting All Families: Connecting International Parents to your Campus Community
(University of California, San Diego and Georgia Institute of Technology)
11:35 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. Session VIII
Leveraging Mobile Technology on Campus
(Guidebook)

Celebrating and Growing Collegial Partnerships to Benefit Your Parent Program
(Baylor University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University)
12:20 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:45 – 2:30 p.m. Session IX
Meet the Parents Panel
2:40 – 3:25 p.m. Open AHEPPP Business Meeting
3:35 - 4:15 p.m. AHEPPP Talks
Career Connections: Parent Mentors
(University of North Florida)

Crisis Communication: Lessons Learned
(University of Pittsburgh)4:15 – 5:00 p.m.Break
4:15 – 5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Dinner & Awards Ceremony

 

Full Program Descriptions

Tuesday
Session I | Session II | Session III | Keynote Speaker | Session IV | Session V | PechaKucha

Wednesday
Session VI | Session VII | Session VIII | Session IX | AHEPPP Talks | Awards

Tuesday, November 11, 2014


9:00 – 9:45 a.m. | Session I

Breaking Through the Barriers of Parenting Styles
Differences in parenting style can influence family interactions, views on appropriate involvement, and how parents interpret information provided by professionals. This session will report findings of a study that examined how parenting style relates to parent involvement in college. Participants will consider how parent/family professionals might adapt to different parenting styles to provide information and support families by adjusting communications, events, and services in order to address needs of parents we're not currently reaching.
Chelsea Petree, Ph.D., Parent Program Assistant Director, University of Minnesota

Creating a Collaborative Campus Culture that Embraces Parent Involvement
As parent professionals we understand that the support and engagement of parents is vital to student success. Recognizing that this may not always be a collective perspective campus-wide, representatives from NC State and the University of Arkansas will share their initiatives for developing a collaborative campus culture that embraces parent engagement. Participants will be invited to share experiences, knowledge and develop an action plan to implement on their campuses.
Kerri A. Fowler, M.S., Assistant Director, Parents & Families Services, North Carolina State University
Alison Leach, Assistant Director of Parent & Family Programs, University of Arkansas

9:55 – 10:40 a.m. | Session II

Parent and Family Orientation Programming
Orientation is an important component of beginning to connect with the new parents and families in your campus community. During this session, successful programs will be discussed and shared amongst participants to help encourage new and exciting opportunities in our engagement with parents and families. Participants will also learn more about NODA (the Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention) and the programs and resources available through this national organization.
Jessica L Criswell, Assistant Director, New Student Programs, North Carolina State University

Impacting Student Success through Communication, Engagement, and Collaboration with Parents
This session will explore opportunities to provide avenues for involvement, communication, and collaboration that connect and inform families, allowing parents to support student success. We will discuss how strategic partnerships with campus colleagues can help your university streamline messages to families while providing appropriate involvement to promote retention and progression to graduation. Assessment data and examples of parent engagement will be shared.
Emily Parker, Director, New Student & Family Programs, University of Tennessee
Patrick Ladd, Associate Director, New Student & Family Programs, University of Tennessee

10:50 – 11:35 a.m. | Session III

Parent Advisory Boards: Enhancing Student Learning and the Campus Community
Parents contribute to student success and help universities achieve their goals. This program will educate participants on how Student Affairs’ partnership with parents, through a parent advisory board, can enhance the student and campus communities. You will learn strategies on how to develop and incorporate parent leadership on your campus.
Michelle Guerra, Assistant Director and Parent Liaison, New Student and Parent Programs, San Diego State University
Kris Stewart, Retired Assistant to the Vice President for Parent Programs, Miami University Ohio and Immediate Past Chair, AHEPPP Board of Directors

Purposeful Family Weekend Programming: Roundtable Discussions
Parents & Family Weekends are an integral element of any parents program. In this roundtable discussion, participants will have the opportunity to actively contribute together. Discussions will focus on successful programming for Parents & Family Weekends, including topics like educational programming, social programming, campus/facility showcase programming, entertainment, programming for underserved populations and programming alongside campus partners. Please bring copies of your Parents & Family Weekend schedules and business cards to share, and be prepared to learn from your peers.
Megan Koontz, Assistant Director, Parents & Family Programs, Vanderbilt University
Anna Thomas, Director, Parents & Family Programs, Vanderbilt University

12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch & Keynote Speaker - Madeline Levine, Ph.D.
Madeline Levine, Ph.D. is a psychologist with close to 30 years of experience as a clinician, consultant, educator and author. Her New York Times bestseller, The Price of Privilege, explores the reasons why teenagers from affluent families are experiencing epidemic rates of emotional problems.  Her latest book, Teach Your Children Well, also a New York Times bestseller, tackles our current narrow definition of success – how it unnecessarily stresses academically talented kids and marginalizes many more whose talents and interests are less amenable to measurement. The development of skills needed to be successful in the 21st century - creativity, collaboration, innovation - are not easily developed in our competitive, fast-paced, high pressure world. Teach Your Children Well gives practical, research-based solutions to help parents return their families to healthier and saner versions of themselves by remembering that successful parenting is measured 20 or 30 years down the road, not at the end of any particular grading period. Both books have been translated into Chinese, Russian, Japanese and multiple other languages.

Dr. Levine is also a co-founder of Challenge Success, a project at Stanford's Graduate School of Education. Challenge Success believes that our increasingly competitive world has led to tremendous anxiety about our children’s futures and has resulted in a high pressure, myopic focus on grades, test scores and performance. This kind of pressure and narrow focus isn’t helping our kids become the resilient, capable, meaningful contributors we need in the 21st century.  Challenge Success provides families and schools with the practical research-based tools they need to raise healthy, motivated kids, capable of reaching their full potential.

Dr. Levine graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education.  She began her career as an elementary and junior high school teacher in the South Bronx of New York before moving to California and earning her M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology. She has had a large clinical practice with an emphasis on child and adolescent problems and parenting issues, and has taught Child Development classes to graduate students at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.  For many years, Dr. Levine has been a consultant to various schools, from preschool through high school, public as well as private, throughout the country. Currently she spends most of her time crisscrossing the country speaking to parents, educators, students and business leaders as well as consulting with major corporations and high net worth individuals.

Dr. Levine is highly sought after as a lecturer and keynote speaker for parents, educators and business leaders both nationally and internationally. She is frequently the go-to person on issues of parenting for both print media and radio. She has been featured on television programs such as Katie, The Today Show and The Lehrer Report and on multiple radio stations including NPR programs such as the Diane Rehm Show and Forum.  Emailed over a million times, her August 2012 New York Times op ed piece is one of the most emailed op ed pieces in the history of the New York Times.

Dr. Levine and her husband of 35 years, Lee Schwartz, M.D. are the incredibly proud (and slightly relieved) parents of three newly minted and thriving adult sons.

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. | Session IV

Parent to Parent: Using Facebook to Build Community and Virtually Connect Parents
Parents would rather hear from another parent about the student experience. MIT has found a way to use enthusiastic parent volunteers to offer support, advice and information to incoming and current parents. This session will highlight MIT’s active, volunteer-driven parent Facebook group which has served as an effective resource and community builder. MIT will review their efforts, best practices, and lessons learned with the hope that attendees leave with several transferable ideas.
Stephanie Hansen, Assistant Director, Parents Association, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Implementing an Inaugural Parent and Family Orientation Program
Is your institution considering implementing a parent and family session during new student orientation? If you are considering embarking on creating this positive change in your orientation program, you are invited to learn from our experiences at Purdue University as well as share ideas and problem solve with each other. This session will address the following topics: assessing the need for parent and family orientation on your campus, internal and external communication, gaining buy-in, suggested session development and topics, and assessment practices.
Kelley Stier, Associate Dean of Students & Director of Parent & Family Programs, Purdue University

3:55 – 4:40 p.m. | Session V 

From Start to Finish: Program Development for Spanish Speaking Family Members
This presentation will outline the process Northeastern Illinois University and Syracuse University undertook to develop programming and support for Spanish speaking family members. Both universities are at different stages of the programming implementation process. This presentation will take participants on a journey starting with the conception of both programs and highlighting the strengths and opportunities for growth.
Meagan Mitchell, Director of New Student and Family Programs, Northeastern Illinois University
Colleen O’Connor Bench, Assistant Vice President, Syracuse University

Beyond Family Weekend: Expanding Parent and Family Programs
91.4% of colleges and universities surveyed provide a Family Weekend program (Savage & Petree, 2011). However, there are many other opportunities to involve and support parents and family members beyond Family Weekend. Sibling programs have the potential to create stronger bonds between college students and their younger siblings, support retention, and increase college interest among siblings of college students. Programs for parents and family members of prospective students can also increase recruitment efforts. In fact, there are myriad ways besides Family Weekend that parent and family programming professionals can support students and their families. This presentation will cover parent and family programming beyond Family Weekend, including Sibling programming, parent and family letter-writing programs, admissions and orientation activities, and other ways to support students and families.
Pamela Carrizales, Unit Coordinator, Parent & Family Relations, Texas Tech University
Denise Giesbers, Director, Orientation and Office of Transfer Student Services, Pacific University
Christine Self, Associate Director, Parent & Family Relations, Texas Tech University
Angela Surratt, Office of Parent and Family Support, Pacific University

4:45 – 5:45 p.m. | Chocolate Reception powered by PechaKucha

CAS Standards: Improving the Work You Do and Others’ Understanding of It
To remain a vital and valued part of campus culture, student learning must be the basis of what we do and should support our mission and that of our institution. Our contributions must be evidenced by solid data. The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) has developed standards and guidelines for parent programs that can serve as a framework for assessment. See why self-assessment is an investment in your future…and easier than you think!
Deanie Kepler, Ph.D., Director, Parent & Family Programs, Southern Methodist University
Marjorie Savage, Parent Program Director, University of Minnesota

Faculty, Fundraising and Food: The Dinner Dialogues Program
A 2014 New York Times article cited that students who had dinner at a professor's house were significantly more likely to say they would choose the college again. For many campuses, this intimate experience can be hard to achieve. In 2006, the University of South Carolina began Dinner Dialogues, which was an idea sparked by a parent. Through parent fundraising, faculty host students in their homes for a meal. Come get the dish on this parent-proposed program.
Katie Hambrick, Coordinator of Parents Programs, University of South Carolina

 


Wednesday, November 12, 2014


9:45 – 10:30 a.m. | Session VI
Sexual Assault: How to Support Students and Parents
As students (and parents) prepare for campus life, conversations that focus on great experiences, lasting friendships, and challenges of academic life are occurring everywhere. It’s safe to assume that today’s informed parents have thought about sexual assault but they are often unprepared for the havoc it creates in the lives of their students as well as their own. This presentation is designed to help those higher education professionals who support parents and their sons and daughters as they navigate this most difficult of times from the moment of initial notification though to recovery.
Dr. Cathey Soutter, Director, Counseling and Psychiatric Services, Southern Methodist University

10:40 – 11:25 a.m | Session VII
Using Social Media to Engage, Inform, and Achieve Your Program Outcomes
This session will address how Parent/Family Programs can best use social media. Social media enhances communication with parents of college students, supports their understanding of the student experience, builds institutional affinity, and celebrates student success. We will provide suggestions on how to begin, content strategy, and account management. Further, we will discuss how social media has helped us achieve program outcomes, and what we have learned about parents through our assessment of social media.
Stephanie Benson-Gonzales, Parent Program Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Deja Gagner, Parent Program Intern, University of Minnesota

Supporting All Families: Connecting International Parents to your Campus Community
Parents want to be connected and want to know what is happening on their student's campus and in their daily life. International parents and families are no different. Learn how two large research institutions are making connections with international families and keeping them informed. We will share how we ensure international parents are part of the campus experience via pre-arrival webinars, parent orientations, online communication tools, and campus visits.
Dulce Dorado, Director, International Students & Programs Office, University of California, San Diego
Laci Weeden, Director, Parents Program, Georgia Institute of Technology

11:35 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. | Session VIII
Leveraging Mobile Technology on Campus
Every year, more schools are leveraging mobile technology to communicate with students and visitors to their campuses. Unfortunately, most of them do it poorly. By avoiding the most common pitfalls when creating apps for student and parent events, universities can provide up-to-date and relevant information to their audience on their mobile devices during orientation, parent weekend, and a wide variety of other campus events. In this presentation we will overview:
• Mobile usage trends on university campuses
• The core benefits of going mobile
• Things to consider/ questions to ask when evaluating different solutions
• Common mistakes to avoid
Joel Shuman, Guidebook

Celebrating and Growing Collegial Partnerships to Benefit Your Parent Program
The Big 12 Parent Programs Conference seeks to have a strong, intimate connection with professionals among the peer institutions generally located within the Big 12 athletic conference. The group provides a forum to share best practices, new ideas, and challenges. Presenters will share the history of the group, the general meeting format, and personal experiences of putting shared ideas to use. This session will be of interest to those looking to form their own groups.
Kay Higgins, Associate Dean of Student Development and Director of Parent and Family Programs, Texas Christian University
Deanie F Kepler, Director, Parent & Family Programs, Southern Methodist University
Judy Maggard, Director, Baylor Parents Network, Baylor University
Leigh Ann Marshall, Assistant Director, Baylor Parents Network, Baylor University
Christine Self, Associate Director, Parent & Family Relations, Texas Tech University

1:45 – 2:30 p.m. | Session IX
Meet the Parents

4:00 – 4:40 p.m. | AHEPPP Talks
Career Connections: Parent Mentors
Universities become stronger and students benefit when parents become partners in building a better education experience. At the University of North Florida, more than 200 parents volunteer to make connections with students through a successful program with Career Services. This session will show how we combined resources and marketed a plan for parents to mentor students by sharing their career experience and participating in workshops to provide “how to” tips for successful career choices. Jeanne Middleton, Director, Office of Parent & Family Programs, University of North Florida

Crisis Communication: Lessons Learned
Clear and timely communication is essential to combat parent anxiety during a campus crisis. In this session the importance of comprehensive communication mechanisms like newsletters, emails, web sites and other social media will be discussed. Also included will be a discussion on the necessity to partner with other departments to ensure that a similar message is conveyed. In addition, attendees will learn strategies on how to speak with and reassure parents during a campus emergency.
Sandy Talbott, Parent and Family Liaison, University of Pittsburgh

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Dinner & Awards Ceremony
We invite you to attend our dinner and awards ceremony. We encourage you to nominate your colleagues by October 1, 2014.