This newsletter covers what happened in March and will give you a heads up on what to look for in April and the months following.

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

Recent Board Meetings

Remember, you can find out the Board’s current work by checking the Academy Board Meeting Agendas and Minutes posted on the Academy members’ page:

March 2022 minutes (not approved)

February 2022 minutes (approved)

Summary of March Board meeting work:

In March, the Board

• Improved wording for the Academy Statement of Non-discrimination, which should be an action item for approval at the April board meeting.

• Received updates on PE Conference Planning for the Summer Conference, taking place May 24-27, 2022. The deadline to submit a proposal to present at the conference was March 22, 2022.

The Next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 13, 2022 from 2:30pm to 4:00pm CDT via Zoom.

All Academy members are welcome to participate. You will be able to find the agenda for the meeting as well as the needed information to attend through Zoom on the Academy Member site.

Excitement is building for the 2022 annual Academy of Process Educators/Virginia State University combined Conference!

The Academy and VSU teams meet regularly and are focused on completing the final details. Conference Registrations and Proposals for the Poster session are now open to all current and prospective Academy members. Registrations for both the Conference and Pre-Conference Workshop are open on the website including options for membership type, housing, costs, etc.

The traditional Pre-Conference Workshop on Monday, May 23 is a Student Success Workshop. It is focused on the premise that a relatively new, key role for educators in higher education is that of a mentor—one who fosters the growth and development of cognitive, social, and affective skills. Mentoring is critical for the student who aspires to take ownership of his or her own learning and become a self-grower.

A pizza dinner and “Introduction to Process Education” session will be held Monday evening, after the workshop.

Proposals for the Hall of Innovation Poster Session are due by April 15. Submit your proposal HERE.

[Breakout Session proposals have closed at this time. If you have a proposal that you did not complete on time, please send it in via the portal but realize that it may not be accepted due to availability of time slots in the program. To submit a proposal, go to the conference website and hover on Presenters from the menu. One of the drop-down options is Call for Proposals. You can also visit the Presenters page for detailed information for the theme and goals of the conference, templates to help you organize the required sections of your proposal, and examples of proposals. Your proposals will be assessed by a team of three of the conference planners. Feedback responses will be bundled and returned to you as soon as possible.]

The Academy Conference will formally open with a Welcome Breakfast at 7 am Tuesday, May 24. For more details review the conference program using the link “Program” on the conference website.

We encourage you to join us for this conference filled with exciting concepts, dedicated colleagues, and active learning sessions focused on Fostering Learner Success.

Registration is OPEN! Click the image below or visit the PE Conference home page and click the "Registration" tab. There is earlybird pricing for regular and student registrations before April 18. (No earlybird discount for VSU faculty/staff, faculty or staff at VSU partner schools, or emeritus faculty, as these categories already receive discounted registration.)

On-campus lodging is available; reserve and pay for your lodging when you register. You also have the option to register for the Pre-Conference Student Success Workshop (May 23) at the same time. When you attend the PE Conference, you receive a discount on the workshop. Visit the PE Conference website and Registration page to learn more!

The Student Success Workshop is based on the premise that a relatively new, key role for educators in higher education is that of a mentor—one who fosters the growth and development of cognitive, social, and affective skills. Mentoring is critical for the student who aspires to take ownership of his or her own learning and become a self-grower. Self-growers develop strong self-assessment skills that help them to continually improve their own performance and ultimately mentor their own growth. A successful student is one who not only succeeds academically but also continues beyond college to develop skills that make success possible in both career and life.

Participant Benefits:

• Learn to design and build effective learning teams and facilitate in a cooperative learning environment.
• Learn to foster learner ownership and implement strategies for resistance to behavioral change.
• Learn to create a learning environment where the practice of assessment consistently elevates performance.
• Learn to facilitate active learning with timely and constructive interventions on key issues & skills.

Facilitator:
Dr. Daniel K. Apple is the President of Pacific Crest, an educational consultancy that has provided development workshops for more than 20,000 educators.

Cost:
PE Conference Attendees: $75 ($30 for students)
Workshop only: $150 ($75 for students) ($100 VSU faculty/staff or Emeritus)

Registration:
For more information, contact: Dan Apple  630-853-7535
To register for this event, visit: www.processeducation.org/peconf and use the conference registration form

Pacific Crest is pleased to offer one of its most popular Institutes in an ONLINE (ASYNCHRONOUS) version!

FREE to PE Expert Team Members

$50 for Academy Members

$250 for everyone else

I imagine that you, my dear colleagues in Process Education, enjoyed your spring breaks. You were gazing at the ocean, watching the palm trees sway, frozen drink in one hand and your cell phone in the other while you refreshed your email wondering, “When is the Academy going to send me bylaw updates to vote on??”

Well, I’m sorry to say that glorious day will never come.

In our recent review of the bylaws, we checked to make sure that our bylaws meet all of the rules and regulations for New York state-registered non-profit organizations (that’s where we’re registered, so that’s us!). And we discovered that amendment or repeal of organizational bylaws is an action that cannot be delegated by a governing board to its membership.

Thus our procedures for amending our bylaws were in violation of the law. So the Board, undertaking its statutory responsibility, has voted to change those procedures so that amendments shall be ratified by a vote at a meeting of the Executive Board of the Academy with at least two thirds of the majority of the Executive Board voting favorably.

And so you will not be receiving an email from the Board asking for your vote. (It’s ok if you shed a tear.)

But do not fear! You are still welcome to review the Bylaws, suggest changes, and share feedback when future changes are proposed!

You can always contact the President of the Academy. Or you can join the Board! Two Members-at-Large will be elected during the Summer Conference. (We do more than Bylaws, I promise!) If you’d like to serve as a Member at Large, contact the President-Elect, Patrick Barlow, for more information.

www.processeducation.org