Executive Development Series
Strategic Planning: Key to Successful Academic Leadership

March 28-29, 2008
The Fairmont Washington
Washington, DC

Registration Form

Conference Highlights

The popular Executive Development Series is designed for new and aspiring deans as well as for faculty members who want to improve their leadership skills for a variety of positions within the nursing academic unit.  This year’s theme emphasizes practical approaches to strategic planning, an essential skill for academic leaders that leads to enhanced organizational outcomes as well as improved personal priority setting and time management.  The program was highly evaluated in November, and is repeated.  The interactive nature of the conference offers opportunities for academic leaders to think about challenges in new ways and seek solutions with colleagues. 

Friday, March 28  

7:30-8:30 a.m.
Registration 
Light Continental Breakfast

8:30-10:00 a.m.
Welcome
Opening Program Session   
Strategic Planning: Systematic Approaches for Shaping the Future
As most academic leaders realize, ‘business as usual’ is no longer usual in nursing education.   Strategic planning is an essential leadership skill to move the organization forward in times of increasing uncertainty and complexity.  Join an experienced dean to identify the characteristics and steps of strategic planning, identify key stakeholders, plan around organizational strengths and weaknesses; and pinpoint issues and challenges such as competitive or static clinical sites, increasing numbers of students, and decreasing faculty resources.  Begin to identify strategic issues of most personal concern and create an action plan.
Speaker: Peggy Hewlett, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

10:00-10:30 a.m.
Break

10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Program Session
Building a Budget Around Your Strategic Goals
So you have a strategic plan with specific goals.  How do you translate these into financial terms?  Academic leaders increasingly are called upon to justify their educational operations in terms of the bottom line – often a daunting skill to the uninitiated, but a skill that can be learned and mastered.  Join a dean who is skilled at and enjoys working with budgets to gain practical insights that will help you back on the job.
Speaker: Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

12:00-1:30 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)

1:30-3:00 p.m.
Program Session
Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Strategic Management of External Funds
Academic leaders eagerly seek and are grateful for many sources of external funds, but may have questions about the logistics surrounding managing the various sources of funding.  What are the types of external funding most frequently secured by nursing programs?  Who gets the funds and how can they be used?  What staff resources are required to manage and report funding, including shared resources? What happens to projects when funding goes away? Examine issues and examples with a dean experienced in managing external funds, and share strategies with colleagues.
Speaker: Kathleen Ann Long, PhD, APRN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, College of Nursing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL and past president, AACN

3:00-3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30-5:00 p.m.
Program Session
Proactive Management of Student Support Services
Many nurse academics have anecdotally noted that the student body is changing in characteristics and behavior. Learn more about the work done by our student affairs colleagues outside of the classroom, their important observations about the changing nature of students, and how these impact nursing educators. Topics include changing student demographics, the increase in student grievances and behavior issues, services available to support students and the educational process, and how faculty can understand and meet expectations of younger students. 
Speaker: Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, PhD, Executive Director, NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, Washington, DC

Saturday, March 29

7:30-8:00 a.m.
Light Continental Breakfast

8:00-9:30 a.m.
Program Session       
Looking Strategically at Faculty Workload
Examination of workload is one of the most pressing issues for faculty and academic leaders in nursing, particularly as resources decrease and students and work responsibilities seem to increase. With the help of an experienced dean, consider the differing views of workload held by faculty and deans, the issues and variables embedded in the notion of workload, and the different types of work in nursing education.  Begin to identify your own concerns about faculty workload that can be addressed in group discussion and your own strategic plan.
Speaker: Jean E. Bartels, PhD, RN, Chair and Professor, School of Nursing, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA and past president, AACN    

9:30-10:00 a.m.
Break

10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Closing Program Session
Maximizing Faculty Resources: Strategic Decision Making v. Maintaining the ‘Stagnant’ Quo
As the faculty shortage increasingly affects schools, faculty must do more than show up in class and clinical.  How can nursing academic leaders maximize the effectiveness of their faculty resources?  What creative strategies are useful to extend faculty and maximize student learning? What are the ways that faculty serve as representatives of the school and how can they be helped to succeed as teachers, academic leaders, and important ambassadors for the school?  Consider these and related issues with seasoned deans and colleagues, and identify pragmatic ideas to add to your strategic plan.
Speakers: Eleanor Howell, PhD, RN, Dean, School of Nursing, Creighton University, Omaha, NE and Pamela G. Watson, ScD, RN, Dean and Professor, School of Nursing, and Chief Academic Officer, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

11:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
From Strategic Planning to Strategic Leadership
Utilizing issues identified throughout the conference, begin to create an action plan to guide priorities back at work.
Speaker: Peggy Hewlett, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

General Information

Registration
The registration fee for the 2008 Spring Executive Development Series is $389.  The deadline for early registration is Friday, February 29, 2008.  The registration fee after February 29 is $459.  E-mail messages confirming registration for this meeting will be sent to all participants. 

Hotel Information
A block of rooms has been reserved at The Fairmont Washington, 2401 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037; (202) 429-2400 or (877) 222-2266.  The room rate is $215 single/double. The cutoff date for hotel reservations is February 25, 2008.  To make reservations, please call the hotel directly and request the group rate for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.  Reservations made after February 25 will be on a space and rate available basis only. Please make your reservations early as space fills quickly at the hotel. Note: The AACN block of rooms at the Fairmont has been sold out.

An overflow block of rooms is available at The Westin Grand, located at 2350 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 (across the street from The Fairmont Washington). The Westin has a room rate of $239 single/double. Call the hotel directly at (202) 429-0100 or (800) 937-8461 to make your room reservations. Alternatively, you may use this Web site for hotel reservations: http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/res?id=0712054187&key=60B57
The cutoff date for hotel reservations is March 12, 2008.

Sign up for Fairmont President's Club. Members of the Fairmont President's Club can enjoy complimentary high speed internet access in your guest room and free health club access along with other benefits. To sign up for Fairmont President's club go to www.fairmont.com. When prompted for a "Hotel Invitation" select the Fairmont Washington, D.C. You will be issued an FPC number immediately. In order to take advantage of the complimentary services you must sign up for Fairmont President's Club prior to your arrival.

The following hotels are within walking distance of The Fairmont Washington and may have availability over the meeting dates:

Best Western Georgetown Hotel and Suites
1121 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
1800/762-3777
202/457-0565
www.bestwesternwashingtondc.com

Embassy Suites Washington
1250 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202/857-3388
www.embassysuites.com

Transportation
Reagan National Airport (DCA) is located approximately 15 minutes from The Fairmont Hotel and is metro accessible.  The closest metro stop to the hotel is the GWU/Foggy Bottom stop on the Orange/Blue line, 3 blocks away from The Fairmont.  Dulles International Airport (IAD) is approximately 45 minutes from the hotel.  Baltimore/Washington Airport (BWI) is approximately one hour from the hotel.  Taxis are recommended from Reagan National and Dulles Airports; Super Shuttle is available for ground transportation from BWI (approximate cost is $35 each way), BWI (approximate cost is $12 each way), and IAD (approximate cost is $27 each way).

Continuing Education
Continuing Education contact hours will be provided by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to all conference participants at no additional cost.  CE certificates will be provided in your conference packet.

Refund and Cancellation Policy
Registrations that are canceled up to one week before the meeting will be refunded minus a $50 administrative fee.  Cancellations received with less than one week’s notice will be refunded minus a $150 administrative fee.  There will be no refunds for no-shows.

AACN reserves the right to cancel this conference and any group activity that does not meet minimal group requirements.  Non-refundable airline tickets are the responsibility of the registrant. 

Additional Information
For more information contact AACN, One Dupont Circle, Suite 530, Washington, DC  20036; (202) 463-6930.  If you require any special access in order to take part in this meeting, please contact Meghan DeFord at AACN or by e-mail at mdeford@aacn.nche.edu.  The Fairmont Washington Hotel is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Information about this and other AACN conferences is available at the AACN Web site, www.aacn.nche.edu