Inclusive Excellence and International Educaiton. Rising to the Challenge: Making Inclusion Matter. 2016 State System Summit

Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education is honored to sponsor the Ninth Summit on Inclusive Excellence and International Education on November 2-4, 2016, at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).

The Summit will be held at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, located on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania along Wayne Avenue. The IUP Summit Planning Team is pleased to assist in the presentation of this conference.

Ninth State System Summit

* November 2, 2016 - November 4, 2016
Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex

For more information, visit .

Topics of Discussion

Proposals for the Summit have been received, reviewed, and selected. The program committee invited faculty, professional staff, graduate and undergraduate students, joint faculty-student, and cross-institutional presentations. Proposals are geared to the conference theme and present practical applications to one of the following areas: 1) Inclusion 2) Education 3) Advocacy 4) Dialogue .

Summit Highlights

  • Pre-Summit Conference — Wednesday, November 2, 2016 (daytime): Search Advocate Training
  • Wednesday, November 2, 2016: Welcome Reception (evening) with opening remarks
  • Thursday, November 3, 2016: All-Day Sessions, including keynote speaker Freeman Hrabowski
  • Friday, November 4, 2016: Half-Day Sessions (morning) with closing remarks

Keynote Speaker

Freeman Hrabowski, speaker for summitFreeman Hrabowski, president of UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), will serve as the conference keynote speaker on November 3, 2016. Hrabowski is a consultant on science and math education to national agencies, universities, and school systems, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time (2012) and one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report (2008), he also received TIAA-CREF's Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence (2011), the Carnegie Corporation's Academic Leadership Award (2011), and the Heinz Award (2012) for contributions to improving the Human Condition. UMBC has been recognized as a model for inclusive excellence by such publications as U.S. News and World Report, which for the past seven years has recognized UMBC as a national leader in academic innovation and undergraduate teaching. Note: Hrabowski will conduct a book signing following his presentation. His latest work, Holding Fast to Dreams, will be available for purchase at the Summit.

Pre-Summit Conference

Anne Gillies, associate director of Affirmative Action and Advancement at Oregon State University, will present Search Advocate Training for faculty and administrators on Wednesday, November 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (before the official evening Summit Welcome Reception). The role of the search advocate is to further advance a university's commitment to equal opportunity principles, affirmative action practices, and diversity values. They work to enhance the validity, fairness, and diversity focus in each search process. Search advocates help search committees learn to recognize and reduce unconscious and unintentional biases, suggest ways to increase the validity of the standard search process, and focus on ways to enhance diversity throughout the search and selection process. Please note: Seating is limited to the first 100 registrants for this workshop.

Summit Donors and Sponsors

Special acknowledgement goes to the generous support of the 2016 State System Summit Donors and Sponsors. Thank you!