Session A | Session B | Session C | Session D | Session E | Session F | Session G
A1. Making the Change to a Human Resources Consulting Model
Learn how one university transformed its human resources department into a consulting organization. Understand the benefits and risks of making this change, and identify what strategies can work for your college/university.
Kathy Hagedorn, vice president for Human Resources, Saint Louis University
A2. Implementation of the New 403(b) Regulations
Review up-to-date information and insights on the regulatory changes that can affect higher education 403(b) plan administration, and how you can prepare for those changes.
Richard Turner, vice president and deputy general councel, AIG Retirement
A3. The University of Iowa liveWELL Program: 2007 CUPA-HR Award Winner
Find out about a new comprehensive wellness program for faculty and staff. Designed as a collaborative effort with all levels of the university, liveWELL proactively addresses a healthy campus culture and improved health care utilization.
Megan Moeller, Wellness coordinator, The University of Iowa
A4. Strategies for Recruitment & Retention Among Generations
This roundtable discussion focuses on the challenges, advantages and strategies to recruit and retain four or more working generations with diverse philosophical views of work and life. Develop and formulate your own recruiting strategies and benefits packages to address the needs of all generations.
Kathryn Klepak, director of Human Resources, University of Wyoming
A5. Helping Your Staff Feel More Comfortable With Change
Change is an important part of any workplace, especially in higher education. The skills of embracing, adapting to and creating change are teachable skills. This session will give you the tools necessary to help your employees become change agents in their departments and supporters of change campus-wide.
Tracy Knofla, consultant, High Impact Training
B1. Managing Human Capital in the Virtual World
HR professionals need to be prepared to face challenges from rapidly changing environmental and technological advancements while managing daily HR issues. Participants will take a journey through the virtual world of Second Life to see its recruitment, retention, training and organizational development. Case studies will facilitate open discussions and provide practical information.
Eric Fudge, director, Instructional Technology, and Jauhn Nash, director, Human Resources and Payroll Services, both from State Fair Community College
B2. Will Retirement Be Affordable For Your Institution? For Your Faculty and Staff?
This fast-paced, interactive session addresses key issues in assessing retirement programs. Gain practical insights and perspectives for helping define your institution's role in successfully financing and structuring (or restructuring!) retirement benefit programs in light of new expectations and challenges. Develop a meaningful framework for understanding and assessing retirement income adequacy; hear what other institutions are doing to restructure post-employment retirement benefits; and hear key strategies and compliance issues under the new 403(b) regulations.
Trent Grocock, associate director, Office of Budget and Planning, and Denise Murphy, director of Compensation and Benefits, both from University of Notre Dame; Allen Steinberg, principal, Retirement and Financial Management Practice, Hewitt Associates
B3. Engaging Employees Across Generations
It's time to re-examine how your institution communicates with multiple generations and what it offers your diverse populations. Aging and younger worker's employment expectations are dramatically reshaping the workforce. What should your institution do now to attract, retain and motivate talent? Hear insights on the future workforce, characteristics and expectations of each generation, and specific actions you can take to prepare.
Norm Jacobson, senior vice president and manager, Health Actuarial Services, and Kelly Jones, senior vice president, Higher Education Practice Leader, both from Sibson Consulting
B4. Inclusion Advocates on Search Committees
Examine an inclusion advocate program developed to recruit a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Here, search committee members attend a training program to learn their roles. Discover why the program was created, how it was implemented, and how the initiative has been received by the campus community.
Cami Zawacki, president, HR AA Strategies; Stephen Drew, civil rights attorney, Drew, Cooper & Anding; Linda Yuhas, director of Compensation and Employment Services, Grand Valley State University
B5. Developing Yourself and Your Staff Through the Knowledge Center
Further your career and provide professional development to your staff by using the exciting new online features in the HR e-Learning section of the CUPA-HR Knowledge Center. Highlights include a choice of 800 separate SkillSoft Business Library courses with expansive offerings in strategic planning, team building, financial analysis and business law; courses aimed at earning professional certifications (e.g., PHR and SPHR); an array of 4,000 digital books searchable and retrievable by key word; and "Jewels of the Knowledge Center," a fast-paced display of outstanding content and models to adapt for your institution.
Ken Tagawa, CUPA-HR Knowledge Center content director, CUPA-HR
C1. Metrics, Business Intelligence and Strategic Planning: How It All Fits Together
In a confusing world of words and concepts that is driven by technology and the goal of becoming a primary cabinet member, HR professionals need to investigate and use metrics, business intelligence and strategic planning to establish and sustain a seat at the table. Whether you are just beginning a metrics program or already have the tools in place, this session will concentrate on how to analyze and use the information to the best advantage of your institution.
Karl Sparks, director of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
C2. University of Michigan Carve-out: Greater Plan Involvement in Drug Benefit Management
Learn about the current market and compare the different models that plan sponsors can use with prescription drug management. Review key strategies and best practices to control cost and future utilization. Discuss the top 12 innovative practices you can propose to implement with your PBM or health care vendor.
Keith Bruhnsen, assistant director of Benefits & manager of Prescription Drug Plan, University of Michigan
C3. When Performance Is Affected by Mental Health Issues
Experienced HR practitioners will lead a group discussion about real workplace experiences. What do you do when an employee's performance falls off and is replaced by poor attitudes, irregular attendance and performance deficiencies? Explore EAP options, leaves of absence, FMLA issues, ADA issues and discipline. The panel invites you to share your experiences, best practices and techniques.
James Jorstad, labor relations representative principle, Minnesota State Colleges & Universities; Lori Lamb, chief human resource officer, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Celeste Ruble, vice president of Employee & Public Relations, Riverland Community College; Nancy Paulson, director of Human Resources, Central Lakes College
C4. Competitive Recruiting — A Leadership Challenge
A top-quality faculty and staff is a key competitive differentiator for any institution. Yet most view employment recruiting as an administrative chore rather than an important strategic investment. From your employment brand to technology decisions, budgeting, and diversity commitments, this lively session will challenge you to rethink recruiting as a leadership priority for your institution and will provide simple guidelines for competitive (and economical) recruiting.
Kathlene Collins, publisher, Inside Higher Ed
C5. Electronic Pre-Employment Testing for Support Staff Positions
Observe an interactive demonstration of the Web-based pre-employment testing system (E-Test). Examine the various components developed and adopted by a state universities civil service system to meet basic civil service statutory requirements. As time permits, an interactive testing process will be conducted with audience participants. Winner of the Midwest Region's Best Practice Award in 2006.
Lewis T. (Tom) Morelock, executive director, and Bob Curry, Information Technology manager, both from State Universities Civil Service System (Illinois)
D1. Engaging a Multigenerational Workforce
Explore the impact of having four distinct generations in today's workforce and what that means for managers who compete for talent. Understand the general characteristics of each generation and their expectations on being recruited, managed and rewarded. Review strategies for optimizing the talent you have across all generations.
Carol Michelini, HR consultant, and Stacy Biermann, HR representative, both from Northwestern University
D2. Retirement Plan Benefits – A Future Look
What does the future hold? After this session, institutions will be better equipped to develop an action plan to better manage their retirement plan benefits to employees. This session will explore issues related to plan design and day-to-day administration.
Tom Peller, vice president, Fidelity Investments
D3. Mapping the Milestones for Performance Evaluation Success
Construct a performance evaluation process by evaluating the elements most important to your institution's goals and uniquely geared toward them. Become aware of pitfalls and the critical paths for success. Discover how to make bad processes good and good processes great.
Mary Lou Morey, coordinator of Media and Marketing, and Jerry DiMaria, HR consultant, both from Central Michigan University
D4. Invest in a Knowledge Bank
How can employees share what they have figured out independently? How can we make job training available at the instant of need? How can we save the knowledge of our soon-to-retire baby boomers for those who come behind them? Find out how the Knowledge Bank can solve those dilemmas.
Julie Benedict, training assistant, and Sandra Bowman, training coordinator, both from Eastern Illinois University
D5. The Lone Ranger Really Didn't Ride Alone: Aligning HR Strategy With Your Business Partner's Strategy
Consider the importance of aligning your HR strategy with your business partner's strategy and how that can make you a more effective HR partner. Explore what makes effective partnerships and why HR professionals should care about strategy. Gain insight on our experience linking the strategy of the Northwestern University Human Resource Department with that of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Rebecca Cooke, senior associate dean for Administration, Feinberg School of Medicine; Gretchen Nester, HR manager, Chicago Campus; Colleen Cullen, HR consultant, and Jennifer Stack, HR consultant, all from Northwestern University
E1. The 3 Rs (Recruitment, Retention and Retirement) — Do Benefits Really Make a Difference?
Human resource professionals are faced with the daily challenge of the three "Rs" (recruitment, retention and retirement), and benefits play a strategic role in meeting each of these challenges. In this lively and interactive session, we’ll discuss the demographic shift HR professionals are encountering and talk about benefits policies that address baby boomers’ retirement, recruiting their replacements and retaining quality faculty and staff. We'll also discuss retiree health care benefits and their effect on your institution as a whole.
Pam Beemer, AVP for Human Resources, Northwestern University; Renee Rivard, director of Benefits, Michigan State University; Jim Ables, director of Human Resources, Denison University; Gretchen Van Natta, vice president of Human Resources, Roosevelt University; Linda Cool, founding director, and Chris Keeley (retired CHRO, University of Chicago), senior advisor, both from Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions
E2. Creating a Healthy Campus: It Is More Than Just Wellness
Learn about Michigan's Healthy Community initiative from its conception to its approval by administration, implementation, refinement and outcomes to date. Presenters will also share the results of Sibson Consulting's Healthy Campus Survey.
Steve Cyboran, Vice President of Consulting Actuary, Sibson Consulting; Peggy Sheagren, Associate Director for the Health Promotion Division, University of Michigan Health System
E3. Top-Down, Bottom-Up Engagement: Improved Human Resource Structure
The HR system at West Virginia's higher ed institutions was broken. When the West Virginia legislature received from administrators conflicting concerns on the lack of HR accountability and knowledge from employees and on the need for increased compensation flexibility to attract and retain top talent, the legislature directed a study to recommend improvements. Learn about the innovative top-down, bottom-up engagement approach with a three-pronged strategy that improved the system.
Margaret Buttrick, human resource administrator, and Nichelle Perkins, project coordinator, both from West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission; Stephanie Neal, assistant to the president, Marshall Community and Technical College
E4. Share the Wealth
HR offices offer a wealth of information. Determining how to best disseminate it presents a significant challenge. Hear an overview of how one HR office responded to the challenge by developing a set of core data and populating different tools to disseminate the information to different audiences. See a demonstration of how the core data can be easily managed and updated in an on-line instructional-based new employee orientation program, an employee resource guide and a supervisor's toolkit.
Deborah Anderson, HRIS manager, and Lori Lamb, director of Human Resources, both from Minnesota State University, Mankato
E5. A Data Breach: Understanding the Internal Threat
All institutions retain the sensitive personal information of current and former employees, students, patients and investors in multiple locations and formats. Hear methods to debunk some common identity theft myths. Explore the dangers from theives and how to minimize them, plus how to seek legislative action when required.
Julie Maddux, Background Screening, and Alex Ricardo, Fraud Solutions, both from Kroll
F1. A Successful Individual and Team Development Model
Learn how one university center successfully addressed individual and team development and succession planning. Consider the outcomes and benefits to be gained using a 360 degree feedback process including assisting staff and faculty in developing individual development plans and improving your overall performance management. Focus on getting results through successful and sustainable systems planning.
Ann Otto, principal consultant, The Otto HR Group Inc.; Mary Reeves, director of Health Services, Kent State University
F2. Plan Sponsors' Fiduciary Responsibilities
This presentation will provide a comprehensive review of fiduciary issues that are important to you, your institution and your employees. We will look at plan sponsors' fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA and identify who bears them. We will also discuss the potential liabilities of not meeting applicable fiduciary responsibilities, as well as how those responsibilities relate to retirement plans funded with TIAA-CREF products.
Elaine Immerman, Associate General Council, TIAA-CREF
F3. Perception, Image and Brand Building: Aligning HR Strategies With Institutional Goals
Discuss the movement to attract top talent, increase grant funding and improve rankings by communicating the uniqueness of your campus and raising your institution's profile. Gain insight from examining how four very different institutions succeeded in branding their programs to increase their institutional awareness.
Eric Zack, director of National Accounts, The Chronicle of Higher Education
F4. Planning for the Changing Workforce
Prepare for the retirement of your "baby boomer" faculty, staff and administrative employees and take proactive steps to recruit and engage all generations in the workforce. This session will provide you with practical tools that can help you plan for this upcoming transition as well as techniques that can help you gain the commitment of your new employees.
Meghan Bilardo, director of Consultative Services, and Joel Gecht, president and CEO, both from BMA-impact Services
F5. Building a Technology Project: The Student Employment Automated System
Learn how Michigan State University integrated the Student Employment office into HR and created a Web-based hiring system for students. The Student Employment Automated System (SEAS) launched in December 2006 and eliminated the manual paper processing of 165,000 transactions per year and dramatically decreased processing time. This presentation will examine the progress of a student employment technology project from concept to launch.
Karin Root, HR analyst, Michigan State University
G1. Front Line Views: Building Supervisory/Leadership Development Programs
This panel discussion will bring together a number of HR leaders who have recently
"built" supervisory and/or leadership programs on their campuses. The panelists will share the important considerations for each implementation and highlight challenges and mitigation strategies. Come prepared to ask the panel your questions.
Karl Sparks, director of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
G2. How to Graduate to a Long-Term Relationship With Your Business Partner: An OD Case Study on Forming Lasting Strategic Partnerships to Optimize Your Business Partner's Organization
Find out how Northwestern University HR partnered with the Feinberg School of Medicine Office of Development to form a lasting strategic partnership. Discover how an organizational change model can be applied to effectively solve multiple business problems. Interactively examine the transformational elements of change within an organization.
Katherine Kurtz, dean for Development, Feinberg School of Medicine; Sarah Justice, HR consultant; Gretchen Nester, HR manager, Chicago Campus, all from Northwestern University
G3. Developing a Dual Career Program in a Small Town
With the collaboration of administration, faculty and staff, Michigan Technological University has established a Dual Career Assistance Program. Explore the issues and challenges encountered around the development of polices and procedures and working with community partners in a small town.
Becky Christianson, project manager, Michigan Technological University
G4. Healthcare Benefits: Balancing Employee Satisfaction and Rising Costs
Employer-provided health care coverage plays a significant role in overall employee satisfaction. Examine how a small institution measures satisfaction with its health care plan, collects feedback and uses the information to improve health welfare benefits. Participants will learn to develop a campus-specific health care benefit survey and involve users to contribute to benefit negotiations that are best suited for all.
Julie Sterling, director of Human Resources;, and Santanu Bandyopadhyay, director of Institutional Research, both from Zane State College
G5. Transforming Human Resources: Merging Academic Personnel with Staff Human Resources
This session will address the impact of the strategic positioning of all HR functions and services under one unified HR department. Evaluate the pros and cons of merging Academic Personnel with Staff Human Resources. Consider whether aspects of the Illinois State University HR model could work for you.
Ira Schoenwald, associate vice president, Human Resources; and Tammy Carlson, Len Grinstead, Kaye Johnson, and Nancy Spangler, associate directors, Human Resources; all from Illinois State University
