From Washington to Baltimore: A Legacy in Motion, A Future Unwritten
Twenty years ago, a bold vision took root in Washington, D.C., one grounded in the belief that higher education could be transformed through courageous leadership, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to inclusive excellence.
As NADOHE gathers in Baltimore, we celebrate not only the journey that brought us here but the responsibility of shaping what comes next.
Our conference theme, “From Washington to Baltimore: A Legacy in Motion, A Future Unwritten,” recognizes that NADOHE's story has always been written by visionary leaders who dared to imagine more. Built by our founders, strengthened by those who followed, and sustained through the dedication of countless members, NADOHE has grown from an idea into a national force for leadership, learning, and institutional transformation.
‘A Future Unwritten’ reflects NADOHE's opportunity to shape what comes next.
As NADOHE marks its 20th anniversary, this conference is more than a celebration of past achievements; it is a defining moment of stewardship. We honor the foundation laid by those who came before us while embracing our shared responsibility to protect, evolve, and expand that legacy for generations to come.
We invite higher education diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioners; academic leaders; health equity professionals; faculty; researchers; scholars; and other professionals whose work advances institutional equity and transformation to submit proposals that will help shape this important conversation. We welcome contributions from both established and emerging leaders, recognizing that the future of the profession will be shaped by those who bring new ideas, perspectives, scholarship, and practices to the work.
NADOHE 2027 will center on the expertise of those doing the work: leaders and practitioners who develop strategies, navigate complexity, strengthen institutional capacity, evaluate impact, and advance new approaches to our most persistent challenges.
We are especially interested in proposals that move beyond identifying the challenges facing justice work to demonstrate how leaders and practitioners are responding in practice through concrete strategies, tested approaches, lessons learned, and examples others can adapt.
We want to know:
- What are you trying?
- What is working?
- What is not?
- What are you learning along the way?
- What are you willing to rethink?
- And what must we begin doing now to shape the next 20 years?
From Washington to Baltimore, our legacy remains in motion. The future is not something we inherit; it is something we share through the choices, practices, and commitments we make now.
Together, we will write NADOHE's next chapter.
Call for Proposals
Proposals may engage and address, but are not limited to, one or more of the following concepts.
Legacy: What can the field learn from the leaders, ideas, strategies, and institutional practices that shaped the past 20 years? What should be preserved, evolved, or reimagined?
Stewardship: What does it mean to be a steward of the work? How do we protect the progress made while creating the conditions for continued advancement?
Courageous Leadership: How do leaders navigate resistance, uncertainty, competing priorities, institutional politics, and changing expectations while remaining committed to equity and institutional transformation?
Innovation: What new strategies, models, technologies, partnerships, or approaches are changing how institutions advance equity?
Institutional Transformation: How do we move from individual initiatives to sustainable institutional change? What structures, policies, practices, and leadership approaches are required?
Impact: How do we define, measure, communicate, and demonstrate the impact of our work? What evidence should inform institutional decision-making?
Practice: What are practitioners learning from the work itself, and what can others take from those lessons? We welcome case studies, implementation strategies, promising practices, lessons learned, and candid examinations of approaches that fell short, with an emphasis on practical insights, transferable lessons, and ideas participants can apply in their own institutions.
Leadership Capacity: How do we develop and sustain the people, structures, expertise, and organizational capacity necessary to advance this work over the long-term?
Collaboration Across the Institution: How can equity leaders work effectively across institutional functions, particularly with academic leadership, executive leadership, faculty, athletics, human resources, institutional research, health and wellness, and other areas that influence institutional outcomes?
The Future Unwritten: What will the next 20 years require of the field? What emerging challenges, opportunities, and questions should equity leaders be preparing to address now?
Conference Tracks
NADOHE invites proposals for concurrent sessions that bridge ideas and practice. Sessions may draw on theory and/or research, but proposals are strongly encouraged to include an applied, practitioner-focused perspective with clear takeaways for attendees. have an applied and/or practitioner perspective.
Proposals may be submitted for one of three tracks: General, Academic Diversity Officer (ADO), or Health Equity.
Track I: General
The General Track provides a broad forum for examining the evolving practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership and its role in institutional strategy and transformation.
Track II: Academic Diversity Officer
The Academic Diversity Officer Track focuses on the leadership, strategy, and practice of advancing equity within academic affairs. We seek proposals that explore how academic leaders influence faculty success, curriculum, scholarship, academic structures, and institutional priorities.
Track III: Health Equity
The Health Equity Track recognizes the growing importance of health equity and the critical role institutions play in addressing disparities, preparing the workforce, and advancing healthier institutions and communities. We welcome proposals that examine health equity through institutional, academic, professional, and leadership lenses.
After selecting a track, submitters will choose one of the following session formats:
- Pedagogical Praxis: 75-minute presentation
- Research/Scholarship: 75-minute presentation
- Poster Session: 60-minute presentation
- Express Talk/Lightning Session: 30 minutes (20-minute presentation and 10-minute Q&A)
A Legacy in Motion. A Future Unwritten.
Twenty years ago, NADOHE’s founders could not have known exactly where their work would lead. But they had conviction. They had purpose. And they chose to begin.
Today, we inherit that legacy, and with it, a responsibility:
To protect what matters.
To challenge what no longer serves us.
To learn from what we have experienced.
To prepare those who will carry the work forward.
The future is unwritten.
What will you contribute to the next chapter?
WEBINAR: Writing a Competitive Conference Proposal
To support members in developing compelling and competitive submissions, Concurrent Sessions Co-Chairs Dr. Calvin R. Hill, University of Massachusetts Boston, and Dr. Christa Grant, State University of New York, hosted the following webinar. This webinar is designed for both new and returning members seeking practical insights into developing and submitting a successful conference proposal.
During the session, Calvin and Christa provided an overview of:
- Proposal submission timeline
- Past submission data and trends
- Session formats
- Proposal evaluation criteria
Speakers:
NADOHE Conference Concurrent Sessions Co-Chairs
Dr. Calvin R. Hill & Dr. Christa Grant
What Makes a Strong Proposal:
NADOHE seeks proposals that are substantive, relevant, forward-looking, and grounded in practice.
We are particularly interested in sessions that:
- Share practical strategies participants can apply within their institutions.
- Present innovative approaches to persistent or emerging challenges.
- Demonstrate measurable outcomes or institutional impact.
- Translate research and scholarship into practice.
- Examine implementation, not simply ideas or aspirations.
- Share lessons learned, including challenges, setbacks, and approaches that did not achieve the intended results.
- Provide frameworks, tools, models, or strategies that can be adapted across institutions and contexts.
- Address emerging issues affecting the practice of equity leadership.
- Create meaningful opportunities for peer learning and professional exchange.
- Challenge conventional approaches and encourage participants to think differently.
- Connect individual practice to broader institutional strategy and change.
- Consider what the field must do differently now to shape the next 20 years.
We are looking for the work behind the work.
- Tell us how you approached the challenge.
- Tell us what you learned.
- Tell us what changed.
- Tell us what you would do differently.
Who Should Submit?
NADOHE welcomes proposals from experienced practitioners, diversity and equity leaders, academic leaders, health equity professionals, faculty, scholars, researchers, and other professionals whose expertise contributes to institutional transformation.
We encourage submissions from established leaders as well as emerging professionals whose ideas, experiences, scholarship, and practices are helping to shape the future of equity leadership. Proposals may reflect the work of a single institution, collaboration across institutions, research-practice partnerships, or professional perspectives informed by experience across higher education and beyond.
NADOHE’s 20th anniversary is an opportunity not only to reflect on the leaders who built this field, but also to create space for those who will help define what comes next. The strongest sessions will bring forward expertise, practical insight, thoughtful dialogue, and approaches that advance the profession and strengthen the institutions and communities we serve.
Session Styles
We encourage a range of session styles designed to support meaningful professional learning, practical application, and exchange ideas.
Interactive Workshop: A highly participatory session focused on developing skills, applying frameworks, or working through a real institutional challenge.
Practitioner Session: A focused presentation highlighting an institutional strategy, initiative, model, assessment, or lesson learned.
Panel: A facilitated conversation that brings multiple perspectives to a shared issue or emerging challenge.
Research-to-Practice: A session that connects research, scholarship, or assessment to practical implications for professionals.
Facilitated Dialogue: A structured exploration of a complex issue designed to encourage critical thinking, professional reflection, and meaningful exchange.
Express Talks/Lightning Session: A concise, focused presentation centered on one compelling idea, practice, finding, or emerging issue.
Poster Session: A visual display on dedicated boards designed for presenters to engage in informal, one-on-one discussions and networking with conference attendees.
Questions to Consider
As you develop your proposal, consider:
- What have the past 20 years taught us that should shape the next 20?
- What should we preserve, and what should we be willing to rethink?
- What does courageous leadership require today?
- What are practitioners learning that others in the field need to know?
- Where are we seeing meaningful institutional transformation?
- Where are current approaches falling short, and what can we learn from those experiences?
- How are we demonstrating impact?
- What emerging issues are likely to reshape the work ahead?
- How are institutions building the leadership capacity needed for the future?
- What should today's leaders begin doing now that will matter 20 years from today?
Proposal Requirements
Each submission should include:
- Session title
- Conference track
- Session format
- Session description
- Learning outcomes
- Presenter information
- Intended professional audience
- Key concepts addressed
- Practical application and takeaways
Proposals should prioritize substantive content, professional learning, and practical application. Sessions should provide attendees with meaningful insights, tools, or approaches they can carry forward in their own work and should not be primarily promotional.