Before the first full day of the Summit even got started, a handful of intrepid attendees and Interfolio staff went on a 5K walk/run around the monuments.
Keynote: “I started my career at a community college.”
The second day opened with a compelling keynote address from Lynn Pasquerella, President of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, thoughtfully moderated by Paul Fain, News Editor at Inside Higher Ed.
In her address, Dr. Pasquerella discussed some of higher education’s most pressing contemporary topics, including the direct implications of academic employment models for student attainment, the critical role of community colleges in the future of U.S. higher education, and the operational decisions by universities—including but not limited to new technology—that provide opportunities to share resources beyond the borders of campus.
(Want more? Take a look at our recent Q&A with Dr. Pasquerella on the Interfolio blog.)
Client presentations: diversity, community, and local configurations
The day’s remaining sessions (some in concurrent pairs) featured engaging presentations from representatives of a dozen different institutions. Here are just a few tidbits.
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the full picture of improving diversity and inclusion in faculty recruitment includes the Interfolio Faculty Search module—alongside other components such as focused conversations, mandatory action plans for new faculty searches, and a devoted STRIDE team. In the UMBC example, the Interfolio platform enables the gathering of applicant data that can lead to interventions in searches, a leveling of the field during the committee review process, and an automatic reporting on where applicants are finding position listings online.
The University of Arizona shared how they have developed a carefully structured internal user support community for collecting, validating, and reporting on data through the Interfolio Faculty Activity Reporting module.
Evening events: DC excursions and Interfolio’s 20th birthday
After the day of thoughtful conversation and discovery, attendees had the opportunity to enjoy an architectural walking tour, explore the National Portrait Gallery, or visit a free concert at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage.
Afterward, attendees convened at the Interfolio offices for a 20th birthday-themed happy hour.
For more information on the 2019 Interfolio Summit, check out the other two posts: Recap + Day 1: The (Inaugural) 2019 Interfolio Summit and Day 3: Success stories, a look under the hood, and a 6-month roadmap.