Walden University will highlight its Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Community College Leadership at the 10th annual Innovations Conference being held March 4 to 7 in New Orleans by the League for Innovation in the Community College.

Walden students, alumni and faculty are asked to visit Walden at Booth 201 and bring colleagues along who may be interested in learning more about the university. Students, alumni and faculty can also pick up an invitation to Walden's Hospitality Suite at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Light refreshments will be available from 4 to 7 p.m. on March 4 and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 5 and 6 (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday).

Students, alumni and faculty planning to present topics at the conference are also encouraged to send presentation details to the Walden Ponder. 

Walden will hold Innovations 2007 sessions over two days:

Preparing Leaders for the 21st Century
1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Monday, March 5
Grand Salon 7, First Floor
In the next five years, community colleges will need more than 3,000 new presidents and vice presidents; in 15 years, these colleges will also need more than 62,000 new full-time faculty members. Many of these new leaders will be prepared in Walden’s Community College Leadership program where more than 130 doctoral students are already enrolled. Presenters in this session will review the distinctive elements of one of the most innovative and substantive graduate programs ever created.

• Dr. Terry O’Banion, president emeritus, League for Innovation; director, Community College Leadership Program, Walden
• Julie Waskow, chair, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Glendale Community College (Maricopa Community Colleges), Arizona; first graduate of Walden’s Community College Leadership Program
• Laura Weidner, executive director, Center for Workforce Solutions, Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland; graduate student, Community College Leadership Program, Walden

Tomorrow’s Leaders Making an Impact Today
11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, March 6
Grand Salon 15, First Floor
In this session, three doctoral students in Walden’s online Community College Leadership Ph.D. specialization will share how they are using their doctoral experience to have a positive impact on their colleges. Walden enrolls students in this innovative, learning-centered program in which the students use their colleges as learning laboratories to improve their jobs. This creative approach is designed to integrate the students’ academic and work life, providing an opportunity for aspiring leaders to have an immediate impact on the future of the community college.

• Dr. Terry O’Banion, president emeritus, League for Innovation; director, Community College Leadership Program, Walden
• Todd Aakhus, director, Lifelong Learning Center, Rio Salado College (Maricopa Community Colleges), Arizona; student, Community College Leadership Program, Walden
• Ann Beheler, dean, Business, Computing, and Career Services, Orange Coast College, California; student, Community College Leadership Program, Walden
• Laura Weidner, executive director, Center for Workforce Solutions, Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland; graduate student, Community College Leadership Program, Walden

Open Books and Open Minds—Taking Testing Out of the Classroom
Time/date/room—TBA

• Melanie Arpaio, key presenter and roundtable discussion leader; psychology instructor, Sussex County Community College, New Jersey; Ph.D. in Psychology student, Educational Psychology Track, Walden

The conference will be held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside complex on the banks of the Mississippi River. Nearby attractions include the Riverwalk Marketplace, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Audubon Entergy IMAX Theatre, the French Quarter, the National World War II Museum, and the Louisiana Children's Museum.

See when Walden University representatives will be available at other events.

February Ponder front page