December 20, 2006

Higher education partnership conference set for Chicago

by Chase Goble

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Illinois Council on Continuing Higher Education (ICCHE) presents the 32nd annual conference titled “Pathways to Partnerships II: Continuing the Journey,” held at the Chicago City Center on Feb.8-9.

The interest shown by last year's conference participants on the topic of partnerships has led the 2007 Conference Committee to focus efforts on providing more thought provoking and idea generating opportunities for partnership development and implementation. ICCHE is an institutional-based membership organization representing continuing education at post-secondary education institutions in Illinois. The council is comprised of individuals representing a diverse group of education professionals from a wide cross section of the higher education community.

This year's conference will address the following challenge: What are the missing links in our efforts to create a more entrepreneurial organization? The key note speaker is David Houle, a strategic advisor to companies, who focuses on forward thinking growth strategies that can best take advantage of developing and future trends. Universities and community college conference attendees will explore new opportunities to maximize resources and collaborations while gaining information on topics such as constructing a business plan, intergenerational programming, marketing and articulation.

Join your colleagues for dialogue, keynote presentations and breakout sessions that will address the importance of partnering and entrepreneurship. The conference also provides a great chance for college and university presidents to share their ideas on partnership development. Deadline to register is Feb.7. For more information on the conference such as fees, hotels, and to register, contact the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Division of Continuing Education at 618/536-7751 or visit www.dce.siu.edu. If you would like to reserve a room at the hotel,

please call the Holiday Inn City Centre at 312/787-6100 and mention the Illinois Council on Continuing Education Conference prior to Jan.15 to receive the discounted conference rate.

The registration fee for ICCHE members is $155 or $165 after Jan. 31. The fee for nonmembers is $180 or $190 after Jan. 31.

Do not miss this great opportunity!