The Conference for Community College Advancement is coming up on Oct. 16-18, in Baltimore, Maryland. Chair of the Conference Committee Kenneth Cooper, who is Executive Director of the Las Positas College Foundation, in Livermore, California, wants you to attend!
Here, he answers two key questions for his colleagues who haven’t yet registered.
Why should members attend the conference and what can they look forward to when they do?
It’s always a good time to invest in yourself, your career trajectory, and the institution you serve. I believe it’s critical that we take the time (and it’s OK to spend the money) for professional development and training. And this conference, specifically for community college advancement, is unique because it’s the one for what we do. You will meet and learn from colleagues who are the very best in the world. But it’s about you too. If you are not there, we will miss you—your drive, your energy, your perspective. No matter where you are in your career, the viewpoint of someone who is one year in is just as valuable as someone with 10, 20, 30-plus years of experience.
The programming is on the pulse of what attendees need at all levels. That’s what I’ve always loved about this conference—when I was an attendee, when I was on the planning committee, and still, now as chair. There hasn’t been a year I haven’t come back and initiated something I learned. One year it might be alumni development. Another might be staff development. And sometimes it’s an idea I didn’t know I needed until I heard it at the conference.
And of course, we can never underestimate the networking that goes on between the sessions. It’s simply invaluable. It might just be what I look forward to most. I can’t wait to see who I will reconnect with in Baltimore and who I will meet for the first time.
Read more about Kenneth Cooper and his work at Las Positas College.
