2027 Annual Meeting Full Schedule

Begin the day together with a welcome and shared prayer.

Welcoming Remarks: Robert D. Kelly
President, University of Portland,
ACCU Annual Meeting Task Force Chair

Opening Prayer: Prayer details to come.

Advancing Pope Leo’s Vision for Catholic Higher Education

In his Apostolic Letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV describes Catholic education as a lighthouse and a laboratory for discernment, innovation and prophetic witness. ACCU Board Chair Amy Novak will speak with H.E. Msgr. Carlo Maria Polvani about that vision and its implications for Catholic colleges and universities.

Sponsored by: Stradley Ronon
Location: Penn Quarter A & B

Presenter: H.E. Msgr. Carlo Maria Polvani
Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Vatican

Moderator: Amy Novak
President, St. Ambrose University/Mount Mercy University

Advancing Mission Through Health Sciences Growth: Models, Challenges and Opportunities for Catholic Higher Education

As workforce shortages, demographic shifts and regional health disparities reshape higher education, Catholic institutions are exploring growth in the health sciences. Panelists will examine strategic models, financial and operational considerations, and partnerships that can advance mission while responding to workforce and community needs.

Location: Declaration B

Speakers:

• Rachel Chrastil, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Xavier University
• Susan Donovan, President, Bellarmine University
• Brian McGee, President, Quincy University

Moderator: Sandra Cassady
President, Rockhurst University

Trends in Catholic Philanthropy

Leaders from major Catholic funders will discuss emerging priorities and trends in Catholic philanthropy, with attention to where higher education can contribute to shared goals. The session is intended to illuminate the broader philanthropic landscape – not to serve as a forum for individual funding requests.

Speakers:

• Amy Goldman, CEO and Chair of GHR Foundation
• Brian Hayes, Regional Director at Porticus North America
• Alexia Kelley, President and CEO of FADICA
• Sr. Jane Wakahiu, Associate Vice President, Program Operations and Head of Catholic Sisters for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Moderator: Ann McElaney-Johnson
President, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles

Women’s Leadership in the Church and the Academy

This session will unpack findings from the Synod on Synodality working group report on The Participation of Women in the Life and Leadership of the Church and consider what those findings mean for women’s leadership in Catholic higher education.

Location: Penn Quarter A & B

Presenters:

• Catherine E. Clifford, Faculty of Theology, Saint Paul University
• Kim Daniels, Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University
• Jeannine Marino, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Trinity Washington University

Moderator: Lynn Babington
President, Chaminade University of Honolulu

Hope Has Work to Do: Leading the Catholic University in an Age of AI Abundance

AI’s promise of more abundant expertise and administrative capacity raises a practical question for Catholic university leaders: what will we do with the capacity we gain? Building on the plenary’s exploration of the dignity of learning, Taylor Black will examine concrete applications in student support, university operations, and research commercialization, exploring opportunities to strengthen mission and financial sustainability alongside difficult choices about work, trust, and accountability.

Location: Declaration A

Presenter: Taylor Black
Director of AI & Venture Ecosystems at Microsoft’s Office and Founding Director of the Leonum Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies at The Catholic University of America

Respondent: Darlene Weaver
Professor; Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Dayton

Moderator: Bill Brownsberger
President, Saint Martin’s University

Managing Evolving Sponsorship Arrangements

Sponsorship relationships are changing quickly, whether those relationships are with bishops, founding religious congregations, or the establishment of PJP’s. This session explores how presidents in various sponsorship arrangements are managing and sometimes even driving those changes for the good of the institution.  

Speakers:

• Daniel J. Elsener, President, Marian University
• Sr. Maureen Geary, OP, President, Aquinas College
• Adreain Henry, President, Mercy College of Health Sciences
• Amy Novak, President, St. Ambrose University/Mount Mercy University

Moderator: Dennis Holtschneider,
Chancellor, DePaul University

Her Story Breakfast Keynote

As she approaches her 12th year as president of Le Moyne College, Linda LeMura will reflect on her experience as the first lay woman president of a Jesuit college or university and on the growth of women’s leadership across Catholic higher education.

Speaker: Linda LeMura
President, Le Moyne College

Introduction: Lynn Ortale
President, Maria College

Faith, Race, and Family: Women Living into Leadership

Session to follow right after breakfast.

Session details to come.

Speaker details to come.

College Access: The Role of Catholic Education in Supporting Undocumented Students

This session examines one of the most urgent crises in postsecondary education: the accelerating federal and state-level rollback of rights and access for undocumented students. Undocumented students face a mounting crisis as U.S. Department of Justice lawsuits and federal and state policies threaten their safety and college access. The panel features higher education leaders, faculty, and practitioners working on the front lines, offering a grounded perspective on both the emerging challenges and effective responses. The session will incorporate table discussion, inviting participants to identify one concrete action — policy or programmatic, on or beyond campus — to which they can commit, aiming to surface the collective wisdom and spirit in the room.

Presenters:

• Miriam Feldblum, Co-Founder, President & CEO, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
• Jaqueline Neri Arias, Assistant Vice President, Hispanic-Serving and Culturally Sustaining Initiatives, Dominican University 
• William Perez, Professor, School of Education, Loyola Marymount University

Moderator: Msgr. Stuart Swetland
President, Donnelly College