by Cié Gee, Director of Registration and Records, Office of the Registrar, The University of Texas San Antonio
As the sun set on the gulf shores of St. Pete Beach Florida, we said goodbye to friends, colleagues and the 70th annual SACRAO conference. The southern states left their sweaters behind and traveled to the beach February 12 – 15. This year’s conference boasted around 600 attendees with 179 first-time attendees. In addition to our members from the 14 SACRAO states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, we were also honored to have international visitors from Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom.
The conference was bookended by two excellent presenters. Jeff Selingo, author of a New York Times bestseller “There is life after college” challenged us to think about the success of our students during the opening session. On Wednesday, Dr. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges discussed the view of higher education from her vantage point.
Zoe Durant, the former Director of Admissions at Cameron University, was honored with both the distinguished service award and the honorary membership award. Lori Garrett received the Margaret Ruthven Perry Distinguished Journalism Award for her piece “Best practices for design of Admission Offices and Welcome Centers”.
Over 115 professional workshops, panels, and presentations were offered on topics ranging from diversity and inclusion to change management to practical applications such as supporting online students, communicating with generation Z, and enrollment management strategies. Conference attendees were treated to a party on the beach with a live band, bonfires, and southern hospitality.
SACRAOans are already dusting off their boots in preparation for the 2018 conference that will be held in Murfreesboro/Nashville, TN, February 11 - 14.