Keynote Speakers

Opening General Session
Keynote Speaker: Anya Kamenetz
Educational Futurist and Senior Writer for Fast Company Magazine

Wednesday, April 3, 2013
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

As Daniel Pink has said of the award-winning writer, “Anya Kamenetz offers a thoughtful and much-needed call to rethink higher education in a world of spiraling tuition costs, a 50 percent college drop-out rate, and a growing understanding that the one-size-fits-all college model is broken.”
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General Session
Jack M. Wilson, Ph.D.
Dean, UMass Lowell, Francis College of Engineering
President-Emeritus, The University of Massachusetts
Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies & Innovation

Thursday, April 4, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Jack Wilson was instrumental in making UMassOnline a truly groundbreaking initiative. As the former president of a leading university system, Wilson understands first hand why an effective distance education platform can spur economic development at the state level, and in so doing transform higher education.

General Session: The Innovation Space
Robert Sheets, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Business Innovation Services

Stephen Crawford, Ph.D.
Research Professor, George Washington University Institute of Public Policy

Friday, April 5, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Steve and Bob are uniquely positioned to describe what they’ve termed “The Innovation Space,” i.e. the space within higher education which must be cultivated—experimenting with technology and entrepreneurship—so that, ultimately, our business models support rather than hinder innovation.