Back in February, more than 1,000 practitioners from hundreds of colleges across the nation gathered in Orlando, Florida, to exchange evidence-based approaches to accelerating student success and equity.
Lumina Foundation CEO Jamie Merisotis delivers a keynote address at the DREAM 2024 conference.
From the conference’s opening panel to workshops and breakout sessions held throughout the four-day event, the importance of centering equity was a central theme of the conference. There was also a robust focus on the humanities.
“ATD is not just a conference,” says Dr. Karen A. Stout, who has led the organization since 2015. “There are cohorts and special groups,” she says, adding that, for example, the visibility of tribal colleges as valued members of the network for the past seven years has helped to propel the organization’s focus on equity and student success.
Thanks to funding from The Kresge Foundation, ATD has partnered with The Siyaphumelela (“We Succeed”) initiative to enhance South African universities’ data capacity to enhance student success. Over the past decade, the initiative has expanded from five initial participating universities to 17; a delegation of South African educators traveled to this year’s conference to learn and to share best practices.
At a time when some organizations and associations have opted to boycott holding their convenings in Florida — the battleground in the ongoing fight to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives — Stout says that it was particularly important for ATD to show up in the Sunshine State this year.
“This is a values-based decision,” she says, adding that there was quite a bit of concern and angst, but ultimately, key stakeholders rallied behind the idea to move forward with their support to hold the conference there. “We are not leaving Florida behind. We are not leaving our colleges in Florida behind, and most importantly, we’re not leaving our students in Florida behind.”
