Professional Development Conference

The past Thursday and Friday the 7th annual Professional Development Conference was held in San Francisco, hosted by EnglishUSA. Patricia Szasz, Assistant Dean for Language & Professional Programs, Alisyn Gruener, Enrollment & Marketing Manager, and I (Katie Dutcher, Associate Director of Intensive English Programs) were in attendance and enjoyed networking and attending sessions pertaining to our roles.

I attended a number of really informative and high-quality sessions, including the following topics:

• Developing a crisis management plan
• Moving from a reactive to a proactive approach in supporting students
• Advocating for Intensive English Programs on campus and beyond
• Professional development projects for faculty members

All of these presentations were great food-for-thought and had components and ideas that I can put to use right away in our programs.

I also attended a session on transitioning from teacher to administrator. For some reason, I was very drawn to this session, even though it’s going on 5 years since I was in that transition phase. I’m glad that I went because the lessons learned by the presenter (the lovely Cara Gallardo at Mercer University English Language Institute) are excellent reminders for administrators at any point in their career:

• Listen: Ask before you tell!
• Balance: Especially balancing the needs of students, faculty, and administration
• Create Allies, not Adversaries: Work on building trust
• Plan & Prioritize: Make sure to evaluate and revise after making changes!

Every year, this conference is getting better. This is why I love this conference, and it’s right in our neighborhood (relatively), too!