BRTC Hosts 2023 Arkansas Dean’s Association Conference

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Black River Technical College (BRTC) hosted the 2023 Arkansas Dean’s Association Conference Sunday, September 17, and Monday, September 18 in Paragould.

The event began on Sunday at the Paragould Chamber of Commerce. Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva and Arkansas Division of Higher Education Dr. Ken Warden addressed the group of 75 Deans as the conference’s keynote speakers.

The pair spoke about the landscape of higher education and some of the potential initiatives that will be introduced and implemented for colleges and universities. There was also discussion of a needed seamless transition from high school to college, emphasizing increasing credential certificates awarded along with the number of high school graduates receiving associate degrees while earning high school diplomas.

On Monday, September 18, the event was moved to The Crossing where attendees were treated to four panels of professionals.

Paragould Mayor Josh Agee welcomed the crowd with a riveting speech about how educators change the lives of their students. “Every student has a teacher who changed their lives,” he said.

The first session tackled the future of enrollment changes in higher education. Panelists spoke about the future of education and their opinions of how education will change in the next ten years. The second session covered the legislative landscape of education. Panelists spoke about funding, and legislative challenges affecting education. The third session was a roundtable on community engagement where NEA community engagement leaders spoke of different ways colleges could engage with their communities.

The fourth and final session was a roundtable discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) and the many possible roles it could play in education in the future, as well as, how to tell if AI is being used to complete student’s assignments.

The Arkansas Deans Association brings together academic administrators from two-year and four-year public and private institutions to consider issues facing higher education in our state and to share ideas about effective administrative practices. For more information, contact arkansasdeansassociation@gmail.com

More photos can be found at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAVrYx.