SAVE the DATE – January 15
2026 Academic Summit: Cultivating Resilience During Times of Change
Please join the Summit Organizing Committee on Thursday, January 15, 2026, from 8:15 am – 4:00 pm for the 2026 URI Academic Summit in the Memorial Union. This open dialogue will foster a collaborative space for sharing ideas and best practices that support resilience during times of professional and personal struggle. The day’s events will include discussions about core academic principles, coping with adversity as a community, resilience in teaching and research, and compassion and self-care. We will be joined by our keynote speaker, Dr. Mays Imad, Associate Professor of Biology at Connecticut College and Senior Fellow of the AAC&U STEM, as well as a Teaching & Learning Fellow at the Gardner Institute, who will share her research on the neuroscience of resilience. Please plan to join us for breakfast, lunch, and/or an end-of-day community gathering.
All full-time faculty are welcome. We hope you join us for this important event.
2026 Academic Summit: Schedule
| 8:15 – 9:00 | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 9:00 – 9:20 | Introductions and Welcome President Parlange and Provost Wolfe | |
| 9:20 – 10:10 | Academic Resilience: Upholding Core Academic Principles Vice President Miner, Deputy General Counsel Jensen, and Faculty Senate President Williams | |
| 10:30 – 11:50 | Breakout Session 1 Stories of Resilience: Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others | Breakout Session 2 Community Resilience: Navigating Grief and Loss on Campus |
| 12:00 – 12:40 | Lunch | |
| 12:40 – 1:30 | Keynote: Reimaging Resilience in the Academy Mays Imad (Associate Professor of Biology, Connecticut College) | |
| 1:45 – 3:15 | Breakout Session 1 Resilient Learning Communities: A Three-Phase Approach to Curriculum Design, Implementation, and Fostering a Culture of Care in the Classroom | Breakout Session 2 Research Resilience: Research, Mentoring, and the Academic Pipeline |
| 3:15 – 4:00 | Community Gathering Time, Q&A | |
The schedule is subject to change
Breakout Sessions
Stories of Resilience: Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others
In academia, the act of caring—for students, colleagues, communities, and scholarship—often comes at the expense of self-care. This 80-minute moderated panel discussion explores the theme of resilience through personal narratives from faculty across career stages and disciplines. Panelists will share stories of navigating adversity, shifting scholarly paths, and finding ways to sustain themselves while supporting others. Join us for a conversation that honors vulnerability, celebrates adaptability, and affirms the power of storytelling in building a more compassionate academic culture.
Community Resilience: Navigating Grief and Loss on Campus
When there is a loss within our campus community or that impacts students or colleagues, faculty can find themselves navigating complex situations and emotions. This interactive session aims to explore how faculty can create spaces for transparent conversation and offer appropriate and effective support for students and colleagues. The goal of these shared spaces is to create an environment that balances compassion, authenticity, and respect for differences. Faculty will be invited during the session to engage through case examples, small group discussions, and protocol reviews. Our hope is that faculty leave the session with further clarity around how to best support students and colleagues during times of loss and grief, while also feeling empowered in navigating their own well-being during these difficult times.
Resilient Learning Communities: A Three-Phase Approach to Curriculum Design, Implementation, and Fostering a Culture of Care in the Classroom
This interactive workshop guides educators through a comprehensive approach to creating learning environments that foster both student resilience and cultures of care. Participants will explore intentional curriculum design strategies that build resilience into course foundations (before class), discover practical approaches for cultivating connection, collaboration, and care during instruction (during class), and develop reflective practices for intentionally evolving your course(s) that prioritize students’ wellbeing and effective learning (after class). Through engaging activities and collaborative discussion, attendees will leave this session with clear ideas and strategies for designing courses that not only deliver academic content, but also nurture the whole student. This holistic approach recognizes that resilient learners thrive in caring environments, and caring communities are strengthened when students develop resilience and determination.
Research Resilience: Research, Mentoring, and the Academic Pipeline
Faculty and graduate students alike are encountering new challenges when their research areas, or even their roles within a discipline, become the focus of public debate or misunderstanding. This session invites reflection and dialogue about how such dynamics shape research, mentorship, and the academic pipeline. How do we continue to pursue truth and knowledge in the midst of controversy? How can faculty foster inclusive, supportive environments for emerging scholars who may feel uncertain about their place in a field under scrutiny? Together, we will explore approaches that uphold both academic integrity and human connection in the mentoring process.
2026 URI Academic Summit Organizing Committee
Sue Adams, Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Initiatives
Christopher Lavan, Associate Vice Provost for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, ATL
Lindsey Anderson, Director of the Psychological Consultation Center, Psychology
Jordon Bosse, Assistant Professor, Nursing
Todd Dresser, Associate Director, Faculty Professional Development, ATL
Penny Edwards, Faculty Development Specialist II, ATL
Kristy Embrack Searles, Director of Community and Organizational Development, Community, Equity, & Diversity
Elizabeth Gruebel, Associate Teaching Professor, Human Development and Family Science
Corinne Kulesh-Caise, Associate Director of Graduate Enrollment Management, Graduate School
Danielle Madden, Clinical Counselor, Counseling Center
Karen Markin, Director of Research Development, Research Office
Michael Starkey, Assistant Director of Counseling Training, Counseling Center
