2025 Pre-Summit Workshops
The ACA invites our faculty and staff to participate in our Pre-Summit Workshops, which will occur on Wednesday, September 17, the day prior to Summit 2025, at the Knoxville Convention Center. These workshops focus on topics of interest to both faculty and staff, and they provide a great opportunity to explore interesting and valuable practices related to teaching and other issues of interest to our colleagues.
Pre-Summit participants may register for just a Wednesday workshop ($150 early bird price), or they may select (for a reduced rate) to join us for all three days (Wednesday through Friday) of Summit activities. When you register, please be sure to indicate your workshop choice on the registration form. The workshops may have slightly different start and end times (but all have at least four hours of contact time). Also note that Wednesday registration includes lunch and an afternoon food and drink break.
WORKSHOP 1: Wednesday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm (eastern)
Tara Kenyon, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Montreat College
The First Job Problem: What College Graduates Need and Often Lack
Recent data suggest that nearly one in six employers are hesitant to hire recent college graduates due to concerns about professionalism, motivation, and workplace readiness. This interactive workshop invites faculty to reflect on these employer concerns and co-create classroom strategies, assignments, and projects that help students build the behaviors and competencies needed for early career success. Through a mix of discussion, guided design, and peer feedback, participants will leave with concrete, adaptable tools they can use in their own courses. Participants will learn to identify key workplace readiness gaps and design course-based interventions to address them. They will also develop at least one assignment or project that connects classroom learning to professional expectations. This workshop is intended for faculty across disciplines who are interested in supporting student success beyond graduation.
WORKSHOP 2: Wednesday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm (eastern)
La-Juan Bradford, Director of Academic Support, Lee University
Nurturing and Nudging: Strategies for Students who are Neurodivergent to Succeed in the Classroom and in Life
Professors have academic expertise to grow students’ thinking, and other campus staff focus on growing students in various aspects of personal development. Rarely, though, are faculty and staff educated to work with students who are neurodivergent. While students who are neurodivergent can be extremely successful, they often need guidelines for growth and motivation for movement (literally and metaphorically). In this workshop, participants will learn multiple strategies to nurture, care for, and encourage students who are neurodivergent while appropriately nudging, pushing, and prodding them to rise to their maximum potential. The presenter will focus on teaching strategies and living skills that encourage, as well as challenge, students who are neurodivergent. Strategies presented will include structure of the course, grouping strategies, tone of the class, delivery mode, time management, goal setting, reflection strategies, and others. This workshop will be highly interactive. Faculty and staff who attend will be equipped with strategies to support students who are neurodivergent.
WORKSHOP 3: Wednesday, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm (eastern)
Cheryl Hild, Assistant Professor of Business, Lincoln Memorial University; Joshua Ray, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Business, Lincoln Memorial University
Developing Analytical and Critical Reasoning Skills in the Age of AI
In this interactive workshop, we explore the role of human reasoning in decision making and problem solving. Five major constructs of analytical reasoning are characterized and discussed, including interpretation, representation, calculation, evaluation and application, and validation. Participants will take part in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both generative AI systems and human reasoning for each of these five areas of analytical reasoning. After reviewing some of the important historical perspectives and research on developing cognitive skills in applied contexts, participants will engage in an affinity mapping exercise on key attributes of human vs. AI-based machine reasoning skills. We then consider three questions that are urgently challenging us in this rapidly changing time:
- How must we evolve our educational practices and methods to prepare our students for a future in which AI-enhanced learning and AI-based decision-making play increasingly dominant roles?
- What competencies, dispositions, and reasoning skills must we develop in our students that result in value-added, individual (i.e., human) contribution as opposed to merely co-existing with AI-enhanced tools and methods?
- How do we build course content that promotes advanced reasoning skills and promotes confidence in our students’ abilities to tackle complex issues in the midst of change and uncertainty?
The workshop culminates with the sharing of ways in which we can create an environment of continuous learning that shifts both online and in-person classrooms from lecture-style, skill-based settings to environments of application, critical questioning, mentorship, and student engagement. This workshop is ideal for faculty, instructional designers, and educational leaders seeking practical, evidence-based strategies for rethinking curriculum design considering AI's capabilities and limitations.
WORKSHOP 4: Wednesday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm (eastern)
Natalie Sweet, Executive Director, Office of Research, Grants, and Sponsored Program, Lincoln Memorial University
Grant Basics: The Lifecycle of a Sponsored Project
This workshop offers faculty and staff at ACA institutions a comprehensive introduction to the full lifecycle of grant funding—from application and award to compliance and reporting. Covering everything from sources of funding to lingo, the session demystifies the grant process and provides practical strategies for effectively managing each phase. Participants will explore common grant components, regulatory requirements, and reporting through interactive case studies tailored to their institutional context. The workshop emphasizes collaboration, resource efficiency, and sustainable grant practices. By the end of the session, attendees will understand the key stages of the grant lifecycle and gain actionable insights into developing, managing, and sustaining grant-funded projects with greater confidence and compliance. It is ideal for any faculty or staff member who is interested in grant funding, as well as for administrators who want to better understand how to support the grants process at their institution.
WORKSHOP 5: Wednesday, 10:00 am - 3:30 pm (eastern)
Chris Robinson, Dean of Students, University of Pikeville
Emergency Management for Student Affairs Professionals
This workshop is designed to equip student affairs professionals with the critical skills and knowledge necessary to enhance campus emergency preparedness and response efforts. Given the ever-evolving landscape of higher education and the increasing complexities of campus safety, student affairs staff play a vital role in ensuring institutional resilience and the well-being of students, faculty, and staff during crises. This comprehensive training workshop provides a structured approach to emergency management, offering best practices and real-world applications tailored to the higher education environment. Participants will gain valuable insights into emergency planning, crisis communication, collaboration with campus and community partners, and leadership strategies essential for effective emergency response.
WORKSHOP 6: Wednesday, 10:30 am - 4:00 pm (eastern)
Christi Sayles, Associate Professor of Accounting, Lincoln Memorial University; Cheri Flynn, Professor of Accounting and Director of Accounting and Business Programs, Carson-Newman University
Crack the Case: Using Case Studies to Spark Engagement, Critical Thinking, and Real-World Learning
This interactive workshop is designed for higher education faculty to explore how to effectively use case studies in their teaching to promote critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and real-world relevance. We will examine strategies for facilitating case-based learning in both face-to-face and online environments and will gain hands-on experience with educational technologies such as Padlet, Perusall, and Genially. By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify multiple types of case studies and their benefits in a variety of content areas or delivery teaching formats, facilitate case-based discussions, adapt or create case studies aligned with specific course outcomes, and use digital tools to enhance student engagement. The intended audience would include higher education faculty and instructors in any content area or delivery format.
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