Kris McGuigan

Sunday, April 21 | 5:00-6:15 p.m. 

Higher ed HR professionals today are facing unparalleled uncertainty. From the mounting pressure of legislative rulings to the rise of a gig economy to the competition for talent and more, things are changing, sometimes at a rapid pace, and oftentimes leaving us feeling overwhelmed, unsure and challenged in our leadership roles. In the opening keynote, executive coach and author Kris McGuigan will share science-based practices and field-tested tips on how to harness the power of fear, self-doubt and uncertainty to help us lead with a sense of purpose and confidence.

About Kris McGuigan:
Kris McGuigan is the founder and principal owner of Professional Courage. As a board-certified executive coach, keynote speaker and corporate trainer for some of the nation’s most prominent Fortune 500 companies, she has helped countless leaders step up and stand out in the marketplace. Her first book, The Requisite Courage: How to Make Brave Decisions in Business & Life, is a science-based approach to fear management that helps you overcome self-doubt, take more risks and get results.

Sponsored by    

Kevin McClure

Monday, April 22 | 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Many colleges and universities continue to experience high turnover, prolonged vacancies and challenges around employee engagement. Drawing on his in–progress book, Dr. Kevin McClure will explore the roots of higher education’s workplace problems, connecting his personal experiences to research on burnout, disengagement and demoralization. He’ll also present strategies that leaders can adopt to better support the well-being of staff and faculty through organization–level changes to structures and cultures.

About Kevin McClure:
Dr. Kevin R. McClure is the Murphy Distinguished Scholar of Education and associate professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He also serves as director of public engagement for the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges. He is an expert on college leadership, management and finance, especially at broad–access institutions. He is the co–editor of Regional Public Universities: Addressing Misconceptions and Analyzing Contributions and Unlocking Opportunity Through Broadly Accessible Institutions. Dr. McClure’s public scholarship covers a range of topics, and throughout the pandemic he wrote several articles on morale, burnout, disengagement, staffing and leadership in higher education. He is currently working on a research project to improve the higher education workplace, including a book titled The Caring University. 

Sponsored by   

Amy Wrzesniewski

Tuesday, April 23 | 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

In our closing keynote, Amy Wrzesniewski will help us explore what makes our own work meaningful and what leaders and managers can do to help people find and craft meaning in their work.

Amy Wrzesniewski is William and Jacalyn Egan Professor at The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests focus on how people make meaning of their work in difficult contexts (e.g., stigmatized occupations, virtual work, absence of work) and the experience of work as a job, career or calling. Her current research involves studying how employees shape their interactions and relationships with others in the workplace to change both their work identity and the meaning of the job.

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