Annual Conference

6:00pm

MAC Registrants and Guests

 

8:00am

Registration and Check-In
Visit Vendor Booths

Main Hall
(East Side of the JCC)

8:45am

Conference Welcome, Purpose, and Objectives
Sponsored by: Great City Foundation

Blake Thompson, Ph.D.
President, Mississippi College
2024 MAC Chairman

JCC Ballrooms A-B

9:00am

Opening Remarks

Governor Tate Reeves
State of Mississippi

JCC Ballrooms A-B

9:15am

Postsecondary Education System Discussions and Updates
Sponsored by: Pryor Morrow

This session will feature the leaders of Mississippi’s public university, community college, and private college systems. They will provide insight and perspective on the top issues facing the state’s postsecondary system today.

Moderator:
Blake Thompson, Ph.D.,
President, Mississippi College
2024 MAC Chairman

Al Rankins, Ph.D.,
Commissioner, MS Institutions of Higher Learning

Kell Smith
Executive Director, Mississippi Community College Board

Jason Dean, Ph.D.,
Executive Director, Mississippi Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities

JCC Ballrooms A-B

9:45am

General Session I
“AI in Higher Education”
Sponsored by: Lumina Foundation

The future of AI in higher education offers a promising future that includes transformative advancements in student recruitment, personalized learning, administrative tasks, and providing analytics leading to better student retention and success. This session will examine some of the impact AI is already having in Mississippi and in other parts of the country at the postsecondary education level.

Jonathan Woodward, Ph.D.
Vice President, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

Kavittan Gai
CEO, Nectir

Nashlie Sephus, Ph.D.
Tech Evangelist, AWS

JCC Ballrooms A-B

10:30am

Vendor Visits and Networking
Sponsored by: Dell Technologies

Main Hall
(East Side of the JCC)

10:45am

Breakout Sessions

Session I: Information Technology
Sponsored by: CSpire

This session will discuss some of the Mississippi’s remarkable IT sector advantages. The audience will hear from not for profit and corporate leaders and how they are attempting to address the future workforce needs of this high growth, high skill, and high wage sector.

Moderator: Craig Orgeron, Ph.D.
Executive Director, MS ITS

Clifton Carroll
Executive Director, Skills Foundation

Cole Cochran
Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition, CSpire

JCC 201

 

Session II: Health Care Services
Sponsored by: AnderCorp

The COVID crisis highlighted some of the healthcare workforce challenges faced by Mississippi. These include shortages of medical professionals, high turnover rates, and access to adequate resources. This panel will focus on how colleges and universities in Mississippi as well as in other parts of the country are positioned to provide access to training and education opportunities in the health care field.

Moderator:
LaNelle Williams, MSN, RN
Executive Director, Mississippi Center for Quality and Workforce (Mississippi Hospital Association)

Melissa Temple, PhD, MSN, RN
Director of Nursing Education
Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning

Tina Schaffer, MA, SHRM-SCP
System Vice President
Chief DEI and Talent Strategy Officer Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

Beau Boice
Director of Postsecondary Education
Strada Education Foundation

JCC 202

 

Session III: Mississippi’s Innovation Plan
Sponsored by: Alliant Construction 

The Mississippi Research Consortium and the Mississippi Development Authority recently published the “Mississippi Innovation Plan”. In this session, the plan’s Core Team Lead and a member of the Extended Team will discuss the plan and its implications for the state generally and higher education specifically.

Brian Henson
Director, Trent Lott National Center forEconomic Development and Entrepreneurship

Tony Jeff
President and CEO, InnovateMS

JCC 203

 

Session IV: Incarcerated Citizens, Higher Education, and Career Credentials
Sponsored by: Huntington Ingalls Industries

The evidence is convincing: prisoners who receive workforce skills that lead to a career certificate or other postsecondary training are 80% less likely to be reincarcerated. In recent years, policies have begun to align to provide resources to facilitate this movement. This session will look at some of the programs in Mississippi that are supporting prisoner workforce training and what the implications may be for the future.

Bradley Lum
Lawyer and Consultant, The Cultivo Group
Former CEO, MAGCOR

Yolanda B. Houston
Director, Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prison

Garrett McInnis
Deputy Director, External Affairs

JCC 204

 

Session V: Financial Aid Updates
Sponsored by: Metrus Energy

This session will cover importantupdates from the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid, including the impact of this year’s delayed FAFSA rollout, the state of existing financial aid programs, and an overview of recent efforts to “redesign” or modernize state grants to meet the needs of the current and future workforce.

Jennifer Rogers, Ed.D.
Director of Student Financial Aid
Executive Director, Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board

JCC Ballrooms A-B

11:45am

Vendor Visits and Networking
Sponsored by: SHI

Main Hall
(East Side of the JCC)

12:00pm

Lunch

The Halbrook Award Ceremony

Keynote Remarks
Sponsored by: Path Company

In this insightful one on one session, former Congressman, current national technology association CEO and Great City Board Member Chip Pickering will discuss the vision for economic development with the state’s chief economic developer, Bill Cork. In addition to some excited metro area based projects, the two speakers will include how Mississippi’s postsecondary institutions are crucial to future growth and opportunity.

Chip Pickering
Former US Congressman
CEO, Incpomas
Board Member, Great City Foundation

Bill Cork
Executive Director,Mississippi
Development Authority

JCC Ballroom C

1:15pm

Vendor Visits and Networking

Main Hall
(East Side of the JCC)

1:30pm

General Session II
Updates to the “Ascent to 55%” Plan

Sponsored by: The Woodward Hines Foundation

The objective of the statewide "Ascent to 55%" plan is to increase the number of working-age residents with postsecondary degrees or credentials to 55% by 2030 and 60% by 2035. In addition to getting plan updates from the MEC, this session will feature members of the Lumina team that has provided national leadership on this issue and insight from the SWIB Chairman’s perspective.

Chris Mullin, Ph.D.
Strategy Director of Data and Measurement, Lumina Foundation
 
Scott Waller
President and CEO, Mississippi Economic Council

Jean Massey
Executive Director, “Ascent to 55%”

JCC Ballrooms A-B

2:30pm

Section Meetings

Session I: Academic Affairs

Session II: Student Affairs

Session III: Business Managers and Financial Aid Officers

Session IV: TBD

JCC 201

JCC 202

JCC 203 

JCC 204 

4:00pm

Adjourn