Department Hosted Statewide Conference in Fall

Nov. 12, 2014

The Michigan College Personnel Association (MCPA) held their annual conference at Western Michigan University October 26-27, 2014. Over 140 students, administrators, and faculty from across the state of Michigan gathered for networking and professional development. The conference was a successful collaboration between Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College. There were over 30 volunteers who made up the conference planning team that was co-chaired by Dr. Erika Carr, Associate Director, Division of Multicultural Affairs and Mr. Kenn Barr, Jr, Director of Student Strengths Development at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, both are alumni of the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology (ELRT).The conference theme: Next Practices to Best Practices: Balancing Tradition and Innovation showcased over 30 educational sessions from student, administrator and faculty presenters representing seven different college campuses from across Michigan.

Dr. Regina Garza Mitchell, Assistant Professor, ELRT was one of the keynote speakers for the conference.  WMU faculty presenters at the conference included: Dr. Eric Archer, Dr. Donna Talbot, Dr. Ramona Lewis, Dr. Wanda Hadley, and Dr. Regina Garza Mitchell, all faculty in the ELRT Department.     In addition, several current students from the ELRT Department presented educational sessions on a variety of topics related to higher education and student affairs: Ceceilia Parnther, Kathleen Camire, Krysta Coleman, Jesus Romero, Molly Wiener, Jessie Corp, Adrienne Fraaza, Ariel Arnold, and Stacie Ballard.

The conference involved hundreds of volunteers, many of whom spent over a year planning and organizing the wide array of events. ELRT extends a warm thanks all of our students, staff, and faculty who helped to organize and host the successful conference.