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Keynote Summary

Monday, July 12, 2010
1:00 p.m.

?We Are All in This Together?

Access, affordability, accountability, college readiness, educational attainment, and competitiveness serve as important words for every enrollment management professional today. Nationally for every 100 public high school ninth graders, only 75 will graduate from high school four years later. Only 46 will enter college the fall after they graduate, only 35 will return to college for their sophomore year, and only 24 will earn associate degrees within three years of enrolling in college or bachelor?s degrees within six years of enrolling. These statistics are no longer acceptable as we strive to enhance educational opportunities for the students we serve on our campuses today and prepare for the changing students of tomorrow. Walt Disney once said, ?All our dreams can come true ? if we have the courage to pursue them.? As enrollment professionals and educators we have dreams to close achievement gaps, to enhance student success, and to assist our students in meeting their personal, academic, and professional goals. During this opening session we will dream, plan, set goals, exhibit courage, and explore leadership principles that will guide the implementation of our collective vision to enhance educational attainment and be a national leader by 2025.

Presented by: Dr. Deborah Ford, who began her tenure as the sixth Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin -Parkside on August 1, 2009. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is a proud member of the University of Wisconsin System and is centrally located in the thriving metropolitan region defined by Milwaukee, 30 miles to the north, and Chicago, 60 miles to the south. UW-Parkside enrolls over 5000 students in 33 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs. During her inaugural address Ford summarized her vision for the university. "My vision for our university includes strengthening our campus and the communities it serves focusing on continued excellence in teaching, learning, and research; improving the success of all of our students; and being known as the 'go-to place' in our region of southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois." Ford added that many people have influenced who she is today. "I know how education and opportunity have changed my life and I now have the responsibility to pay it forward,"

Prior to joining UW-Parkside, Debbie Ford served as the Vice President of Student Affairs at the University of West Florida and the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Spalding University. Ford has led enrollment management operations at both UWF and Spalding University and is focused on enhancing enrollment management with her colleagues at UW-Parkside.

Ford has presented at many national conferences including: NSCEC, NCAA, NASPA, NACUBO, and SCUP. She has publications in New Directions for Student Services, NASPA Leadership Exchange, and the Journal of College and Character.

Ford believes strongly in community involvement and currently serves on the Kenosha Area Business Alliance Board of Directors, the Milwaukee 7 Council, Racine County Workforce Development Board. She has been an active member of Rotary International and served as an advisor to Junior League of Pensacola.