The Way Up Leadership Conference 2026

We all engage in “impostering,” or believing we are not good enough, not deserving enough, or not producing enough in our lives on campus. This workshop assists you with learning:

• The definitions of Imposter Syndrome.
• What you can do to partially undo Imposter Syndrome.
• The typical campus systems that contribute to creating Imposter Syndrome.

As a cultural, economic, and technological phenomenon, artificial intelligence (AI) presents significant opportunities and challenges for classroom management, learning assessment, curriculum development, program review, and faculty evaluation. This panel of academic leaders will discuss how they are guiding (or corralling!) their faculty and staff to navigate the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities.

Are you prepared for the tax surprises retirement can bring? Join us for an informative seminar where we'll uncover the four most costly retirement tax mistakes and discuss strategies that may help you keep more of your wealth. Learn how retirement income is taxed, how to manage future RMDs, create tax diversification, and potentially reduce the tax burden on your heirs. You'll walk away with practical insights to help make more informed financial decisions and greater confidence in your retirement plan.

This beginner-friendly session will explore the hidden Microsoft Office tools that can turn repetitive, messy processes into simple, automated routines. Katie Akin, Drake University’s Student Success Systems & Data Manager, will guide attendees through the creation of three workflows she uses daily:

• Outlook rules to promote focused work, not constant task-switching
• Excel macros to instantly create bulk calendar events (no coding required!)
• Microsoft Power Automate flows to send dynamic, deadline-based reminder emails

Through these examples, you will learn to approach administrative work like a data engineer: How does information move from Point A to Point B? How can we keep data consistent with less human interference? If you know what automation tools are already in your toolkit, you can confidently use AI to build functional workflows.

Attendees will leave with a step-by-step handout designed to help you successfully automate a repetitive task at your own workplace.

Higher education leaders are navigating increasing complexity, burnout, communication challenges, and rapid organizational change. In the midst of these pressures, many faculty and staff are not simply seeking answers, they are seeking connection, understanding, and meaningful conversations.
This interactive session introduces participants to the foundations of Compassionate Listening and the IDEA Conversation Model (Introduction, Discovery, Exploration, Application) as practical leadership tools that strengthen communication, trust, collaboration, and employee engagement across higher education environments.
Through discussion, reflection, and hands-on activities, participants will explore how compassionate listening can improve leadership effectiveness, foster psychologically safe conversations, and empower others toward growth and problem-solving rather than dependence. Attendees will leave with immediately applicable strategies they can use with students, colleagues, teams, and campus stakeholders.
This session is especially relevant for leaders seeking to create more human-centered and relationship-driven cultures within higher education institutions.