AGENDA

Develop yourself personally and professionally through our outstanding conference programming.

AGENDA

This year's conference features a variety of sessions from experts within our profession and leaders from other areas of higher education and business. You can view a tentative agenda here. Please note, sessions and times are subject to change.

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PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS

Start your professional development before the conference even starts. This year's free pre-conference sessions include:

Engaging in Sensitive Conversations and Handling Pushback

Engaging in uncomfortable conversations can be difficult. According to McKinsey & Company on barriers to inclusive workplaces, four out of ten racial- or ethnic-minority employees were at least slightly uncomfortable discussing identity-related issues at work. Employees were uncertain about how colleagues would respond and concerned about being seen as different. To be truly inclusive, organizations should prioritize the psychological safety of all employees by facilitating opportunities to build inclusive conversation skills that allow respectful and effective engagement in the sometimes sensitive conversations around race, equity, inclusion and diversity and handling the pushback that sometimes occurs in these conversations. We’ll explore the importance of vision casting and listening for understanding about others’ viewpoints. We will help participants see their place and role in moving an organization closer to anti-racist, diversity, inclusion and equity goals.

Participants in this session will:

• Discuss the importance of connecting organizational and personal values as the guide to why these conversations are important

• Learn steps to creating a safe space for open dialogue
• Strategies for having difficult or uncomfortable discussions race

Information about The People Company, and speaker Deborah Biddle, can be found here.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Anne Bonney

Change is hard. Factor it all in: new ideas, organizational change, industry evolution, technology modernization and even personal changes, and drop in a global pandemic, just for kicks. With all that, life can get pretty overwhelming. The problem is, change ain’t going away. The only constant IS change, especially in today's fast paced environment. Having the tools to deal with change and adapt to the challenges that transitions bring will improve your effectiveness and resilience.

In this engaging (and fun!) virtual or live presentation, Anne Bonney , Change Management authority and author, will spark your courage with the ground breaking concepts from her red hot book by the same name, GET OVER IT!. You’ll have to turn up the AC for this high energy, “bring the heat” keynote. Your participants will leave armed with strategies to extinguish the burning inferno that transition has caused on your teams.

ENTERTAINMENT

Come shine with us as we kick off our 60th anniversary celebration!

Decked out in your best denim and bling, enjoy networking with colleagues, play along with MASFAA trivia and relax to the sounds of Motown and much more.

MASFAA 60th Anniversary Celebration – 60 Years of Shining Bright 

Join your colleagues Monday evening for a night of celebration at The Henry Ford!  Start the evening with a delicious dinner and program. After dinner, experience our 360 photobooth, live band, and take the opportunity to explore American innovation through the years.

“Step inside the bus where Rosa Parks took a stand by taking a seat. Play pilot as you explore flight innovations, starting with the Wright brothers' achievements, or make yourself at home inside Buckminster Fuller’s circular Dymaxion House. Put yourself in the place of the movers and shakers who blazed the trail to where we stand today.” 

Transportation to and from The Henry Ford will be provided.