We are excited to present the first CUPA-HR Virtual Conference! Although it was precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cancellation of CUPA-HR's spring conferences, the virtual conference offers an outstanding opportunity to hear from several of our spring conference speakers. We hope you’ll be able to carve out time on April 20-21 to take advantage of this new offering.

Sessions

Monday, April 20

11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET: Deliberate Creativity: Developing Your Creative Muscle for HR
Creativity is not a special talent that some of us are born with. Creativity is a teachable, learnable skill that can be successfully developed in both individuals and groups. However, most people do not understand how creativity really works and how to tap into their own creativity. Over 60 percent of CEOs claim it is the #1 skill they look for in employees. Yet, organizations often inadvertently hinder creativity and innovation. By using stories, sharing research and facilitating short activities, Amy Climer, an expert in the areas of leadership development and innovation, will reveal how you can deliberately get creative and learn to innovate on demand.

Amy Climer, Climer Consulting

12:45-1:00 p.m. ET: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
CUPA-HR Chief Executive Officer Andy Brantley will provide an update on how institutions are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and what resources CUPA-HR offers to support this unprecedented challenge.

Andy Brantley, CEO, CUPA-HR

1:15-2:15 p.m. ET: Better Projects, Less Stress: Understanding the Experience of Time at Work
Regardless of type or size, higher education institutions are faced with constrained resources and the need to rapidly respond to challenges, which has led to the increased use of collaborative change projects. As a result, HR professionals are faced with leading and supporting project work that carries many challenges, one of which concerns the experience of time. In this session, we'll discuss research around how temporal issues may impact your experience, as well as that of your employees. This interactive session includes opportunities for attendees to share ideas and to craft a plan of action to use on their campuses.

Susan Riegler, Principal Compensation Officer and Advisor, Harvard University

2:30-3:30 p.m. ET: Four Simple Actions to Make Managers More Effective
Research and our own personal experiences tell us that managers have the single greatest impact on an employee’s effectiveness, motivation, engagement, discretionary effort and retention. As the adage goes, “people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” Indiana University developed a new initiative for managers and supervisors that helps them be more successful leaders. We identified four simple yet powerful actions that all employees need their managers and supervisors to do. This session will introduce these four simple actions, examine how they were developed and identify the reasons they work so well.

John Whelan, Vice President for Human Resources, Indiana University

Tuesday, April 21

11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m. ET: Gender Identity
Dr. McQueen studies issues of the transgender experience, intersexuality and the inadequacies of our current two-and-only-two sex/gender way of thinking. As a nationally-known keynote speaker and advocate for transgender awareness, Dr. McQueen will make the case for a greater acceptance of all human beings.

Dr. Kand McQueen, Transgender Awareness Advocate

1:15-2:15 p.m. ET: Navigating Change: A Tool for Conversations Around Change
Explore opportunities to acknowledge loss, recognize opportunity and embrace an openness to growth. This session will offer participants strategies for navigating change with a focus on shared purpose and an eye toward the future. Engage with the OBREAU Tripod, a tool from the work of Don Dunoon, an Australian scholar who focuses on organizational development, mindful approaches to change and appreciative inquiry.

Shanna Legleiter, Associate Vice President of Human Capital Services, Kansas State University

2:30-3:30 p.m. ET: Ethical Leadership
Leadership Development Consultant Linda Fisher-Thornton will share her model for seeing ethical complexity and offer some guiding principles for learning ethical leadership.

Linda Fisher Thornton, Leadership Development Consultant and Author of 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership