2023 Forum Annual Meeting

A Time of Crises: Higher Education Creating the Conditions for A Different Future

Save the date!

Location: Tucson Marriott University Park Hotel, Tucson, AZ

Dates: April 26-28, 2023

Call for Proposals

WICHE will be hosting the annual meeting for the Western Academic Leadership Forum on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 – Friday, April 28, 2023 in Tucson, Arizona. For two days, chief academic leaders of four-year institutions and systems will gather at this highly rated, intimate conference to share best practices, generate ideas around pressing issues, and obtain professional development. New this year, WICHE invites institutions, systems, and individuals to submit proposals to present their work that address this year’s theme, A Time of Crises: Higher Education Creating the Conditions for A Different Future. Proposals are due October 5, 2022 midnight MT. For more information and to submit a proposal, please see the call for proposals.

Greetings Colleagues:

Welcome to the Western Academic Leadership Forum. The Forum brings together university leaders from across the West to leverage their collective knowledge and experience to address issues related our region’s unique demographic, geographic and economic character. The higher education landscape is rapidly evolving with COVID 19 pandemic greatly impacting the health and wellness of our students, faculty, and staff and continues to affect our institutions in many ways we are just beginning to identify.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of having the Forum as a venue for university leaders to come together and work collaboratively to address the challenges our institutions face. The Forum has a long, respectable, history of tackling important issues including the diversification of the professoriate, campus health and wellness, student success and university leadership development. Meetings to discuss how to respond to the chaos triggered by the pandemic and to anticipate fundamental changes as we emerge from it will continue to be truly invaluable. If you are not yet a member, I strongly encourage you to join us and experience all that this organization has to offer.

It gives me great pleasure to share that the annual meeting of the Forum will be April 26-28, 2023, and will be held in person, in my home city, Tucson, Arizona. April is the perfect time to visit Tucson, a time when the cactus and many desert plants bloom. In addition, the meeting hotel is located in a small business district immediately adjacent to the beautiful University of Arizona campus. The meeting will include presentations and small group discussions on timely and important topics of interest to all Forum members. Furthermore, members are invited to participate in contributing ideas for the meeting. WICHE invites institutions, systems, and individuals to submit proposals to present their work that address this year’s theme, A Time of Crises: Higher Education Creating the Conditions for A Different Future. Proposals are due October 5, 2022 midnight MT. For more information and to submit a proposal, please see the call for proposals. I hope you will join us for this important meeting.

Who Should Attend

In attendance you will find colleagues from the WICHE region eager to share the lessons they’ve learned from tackling a host of institutional and academic challenges, including some of the ones you may currently be facing.

• Provosts, vice presidents and directors of academic affairs, and directors of research from public and private bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral institutions.
• Chief executive officers and chief academic officers of systems and statewide agencies.
• Other staff with expertise in the program topic areas, who are accompanying those above at their invitation.

About the Forum

The Western Academic Leadership Forum, based at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), provides a unique venue where the West’s top academic leaders share perspectives on current issues to help inform their future decision making and leadership, as well as engage in planning and developing innovative regional initiatives addressing common concerns. Through the Forum, you will find colleagues eager to share the lessons they’ve learned from tackling challenges like the ones you’re facing and others with special expertise who will lend you expert advice and assistance. Together, we will help build a stronger future for higher education in the West.