WELCOME and THANK YOU for reading! This newsletter covers what happened in April and will give you a heads up on what to look for in the months following.

In this issue (please note the links below will only work when viewing this newsletter in a browser):

We need your nominations for both ELECTED and APPOINTED Academy members!

Next Board Meeting

May 7

7:30 - 9:00 pm Eastern

13:30 - 03:00 UTC

This is our regular monthly board meeting

All board members and directors are welcome!

Zoom information is available on the Member’s site

Academic Freedom

• AAUP Academic Freedom Field Guide (from AAUP.org)

Trackers

• Timeline that documents the administration’s key education-related actions (from Education Week)
• Tracking Trump’s Higher-Ed Agenda The federal government is reshaping its relationship with the nation’s colleges. (from The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Tracking Trump: His actions to dismantle the Education Department, and more The president is working to eliminate the Education Department and fighting ‘woke’ ideology in schools. A week-by-week look at what he’s done. (from The Hechinger Report)
• Project 2025 Executive Action Tracker The implementation of Project 2025 across 20 federal agencies (from Center for Progressive Reform) 

Grant Terminations

• NIH Grant Terminations in 2025 tracks specific NIH grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025 (from Noam Ross, rOpenSci and Scott Delaney, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)
• NSF Grant Terminations 2025 tracks information on NSF grants that have been prematurely terminated since January 20, 2025 (from Noam Ross, rOpenSci, and Scott Delaney, Harvard University)

Articles

• Inside the desperate rush to save decades of US scientific data from deletion Swathes of scientific data deletions are sweeping across US government websites – with decades of health, climate change and extreme weather research at risk. Now, scientists are racing to save their work before it's lost. (from the BBC)
• Hope as US universities find ‘backbone’ against Trump’s assault on education (from The Guardian)

As the spring term moves toward its conclusion and uncertainty across the educational landscape adds to our stress, it is time to gather and recharge our batteries.

Our 2025 Annual Conference theme Applying Process Education to support students and faculty under stress offers us the opportunity to gather in a common experience reaffirming our commitment to the success of our students. We will meet on the beautiful campus of University of Indianapolis (UIndy) in Indianapolis, Indiana.

• A special 3-day Teaching with AI Teaching Institute is being offered by Pacific Crest on-site (UIndy) May 30 through June 1. Read more about this elsewhere in this newsletter!
• A one day pre-Conference Workshop on Monday June 2nd focused on Developing Performance to Unlock Your Limitless Capability.
• The Conference itself begins the next morning Tuesday June 3 through 5. Highlights include:
  • A keynote presentation focused on student success.
  • A plenary session focused on Promising Practices to Promote Student Success.
  • Numerous sessions offered by Academy members focused on their research and practices using Process Education methods.
  • Immersive team time sessions modeling the use of Process Education methods.
  • The annual Hall of Innovation presentations available 24/7.
  • The annual Academy business meeting and awards presentation.
  • Academy annual elections for board members and leaders.
  • Various evening ad hoc social events.

I hope you will make the choice to join us as we celebrate the efforts of all faculty and staff who are dedicated to the success of all learners. There’s still time to register for in-person or on-line participation through the PE Conference Website.

See you there!

We are pleased to share information about the NEW Keynote Address, as Dr. Weinstein had to cancel.

Transformational change can feel exhausting and meaningful actions during times of change can feel unattainable without generating more burnout. Join Dr. Thomas Dickson as he brings together positive psychology, learning theory, play theory, student voice theory, and burnout prevention to create accessible and actionable models for improving student success.

Dr. Thomas Dickson currently serves as Director of the Ohio Strong Start in Science initiative for the Ohio Department of Higher Education and as a higher education consultant and facilitator with over 25 years of higher education experience and leadership. Thomas has served on campuses as a career counselor, academic advisor, assistant dean, and as an assistant vice provost overseeing high impact practice programs, teaching and learning centers, academic resource centers, and student success initiatives. He later went on to serve the regional community of southern California, the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) with a regional non-profit serving 18 colleges and universities and now works with the Ohio Department of Higher Education serving 20 institutions on STEM co-requisite supports. Throughout his administrative career he also served in teaching roles including for the graduate programs in higher education and student affairs, undergraduate courses in first year success and career exploration, and in democratic pedagogy for student-initiated courses. He has presented nationally and published on first-generation student success, burnout prevention, institutional transformation, and play theory. When not working, Thomas is found spending time with his family, building with LEGO bricks, and finding new museums to explore.

Dr. Dickson is also facilitating a special in-person only session at 8:00am, June 4: Building Burnout Breakers. This hands-on workshop tackles burnout in higher education by focusing on environmental change strategies rather than self-care, using LEGO® Serious Play® and environmental sludge auditing to help participants identify workplace stressors, set priorities, and implement scalable solutions.

Have you registered for the 2025 Process Education Conference?

Is this your first PE Conference?

Do you still have questions? 

We are hosting a pre-conference orientation Thursday May 29 from 5:00-6:00 PM (ET). Here is the zoom link for the orientation:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4973781980?pwd=SWpSSUVLNkFZWS9adzZ2T3dOc3ZaUT09&omn=89864280897

The purpose of the orientation is to prepare attendees for the conference. We will be giving a brief overview of Process Education, showing you how to access and navigate the conference support site, and answering any questions you may have. If this is your first PE conference, then attendance is recommended. If you are unable to attend, then look for a follow up email to all registered attendees with a link to the recording. If you have any questions before the orientation, feel free to email matthew.watts@rrcc.edu

We stand at a pivotal moment in the evolution of education and while the traditional boundaries of teaching are being redrawn, it can be through augmentation instead of automation. This May, Pacific Crest invites educators to be part of a groundbreaking Teaching Institute that combines the proven principles of Process Education with the cutting-edge power of AI-driven facilitation to accelerate and deepen the process.

This is more than just a professional development event; it’s a bold leap into the future of teaching and learning. The experience is designed to help you redefine your role as an educator, mentor, and designer of transformative learning environments and develop the skills, mindset, and strategies you need.

May 30 through June 1, 2025
at the University of Indianapolis

This on-site Institute consists of 3 intensive days of synchronous participation with full immersion in AI-assisted teaching environments. Seats are limited.

Cost:

• $600 per person
• $300 discount if attending the annual PE Conference

You can register for this event at the same time as you register for the PE Conference!

This year’s PE Conference is hosted by the University of Indianapolis (UIndy) Tuesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 5.

Registration is open with sweet discounts for UIndy faculty/staff, Students, and Emeritus faculty, as well as groups of 3 or more from the same institution. We’ll be using the same hotel as last year (Comfort Inn South I-65) and the group code to receive the special conference daily rate is available on the Location/Lodging page.

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

If you’ve joined our community in the past year or two—maybe through our annual conference—but haven’t yet had the chance to dive into other offerings, this upcoming round of professional development is for you.

We’re bringing back some of our most practical, accessible sessions, focusing on core principles for improving learning and performance without getting too immersed in PE-specific language through session such as PE in a Nutshell and hands-on workshops on learning activity design and writing performance criteria—both designed to support your work without all the jargon. These are great entry points if you’re still getting a feel for our shared practices.

We’re also launching a new series exploring AI tools for teaching and assessment, with an emphasis on engagement with AI tools to support learning. Want to design better learning activities, give stronger feedback, or sharpen your own assessment skills? We’ll demo tools that can help—and talk honestly about where they help, where they don’t, and how to keep the focus on learning.

Finally, if you have expertise in these areas, we invite you to contribute. Reach out to our PD director, Tris Utschig (tutschig@kennesaw.edu) to inquire about opportunities to co-facilitate, serve in supporting roles, help shape the design of these sessions, or just to share what types of sessions would give you the most value.

Look for announcements of these events coming your way soon.

Let us know what you've been up to! Presentations, publications, grants, and cool experiences...it's all welcome.

Promotion:

• Steve Spicklemire was recently promoted to Professor (tenured). This is effective in the 2025/26 academic year, and a major accomplishment.

Award:

• Yuqin Hu and Will Ofstad were awarded Best Scholarship Paper (systematic, literature or integrative review; theoretical framework; methodological; or discussion) at the Team-based Learning Collaborative 2025 Conference for their paper, Advancing the Transformation of Education Through Team-Based Learning, published in the International Journal of Process Education (June 2024, Volume 14, Issue 1).

The Next Generation:

Summary of April 2 Board Meeting

. . .

Attendees discussed the following

• Converting a breakout session to an HOI presentation
• Pre-conference Teaching Institute (and insurance)
• Ideas for increasing board member participation

The DRAFT minutes from the APRIL Board Meeting are available HERE.

Let us know:

• What have you achieved (WHO and WHAT)
• Suggest someone for an open board position (give us a NAME and POSITION)
• Request a workshop (please let us know the TOPIC, WHY you would find it valuable/useful, and CONTACT information so we can follow up with you)
• Pretty much anything else!