Open Call for 2026 Conference Committee Members
Applications are due Thursday, September 18, Noon Mountain/Denver Time
As the ASHE Annual Conference and related events continue to grow, coordination amongst the various committees and groups that impact the conference experience is imperative. As such, in line with the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, a Conference Committee was created in 2023 to ensure alignment amongst the various events and projects connected to the Annual Conference. The Conference Committee will serve to facilitate dialogue and communication amongst and between the various aspects of the annual conference.
2026 Conference Committee Leadership Team
The Conference Committee Leadership Team will meet monthly to facilitate dialogue and communication amongst the Conference sub-committees. The Conference Committee Leadership Team includes:
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Nichole M. Garcia
Associate Professor of Higher Education Rutgers UniversityConference Committee Chair -
Alicia Castillo Shrestha
Associate Director of Conference and Events Association for the Study of Higher EducationStaff Partner -
LaShawn Faith Washington
Assistant Professor The University of Texas at AustinAttendee Engagement Co-Chair -
Natalie Rose Youngbull
Assistant Professor, Adult and Higher Education University of OklahomaAttendee Engagement Co-Chair -
Theresa Jean Ambo
Associate Professor University of California, Los AngelesLocal and Community Engagement Co-Chair -
Stephen Santa-Ramirez
Associate Professor of Higher Education University at BuffaloLocal and Community Engagement Co-Chair -
Crystal E. Garcia
Associate Professor University of Nebraska-LincolnProgram Committee Co-Chair -
Demetri L Morgan
Associate Professor of Education University of MichiganProgram Committee Co-Chair
Committee Descriptions
The Attendee Engagement Committee will develop resources and opportunities for conference attendees to more fully engage with the conference and each other, and serve as ambassadors of the Association for the continuum of first-time attendees to long-time returners to the annual conference.
Committee Members:
- 2 Committee Co-Chairs
- 15 Committee Members
This opportunity is open to all Current ASHE Members.
Time Commitment:
This is a one-year commitment beginning in November 2025 and ending at the 2026 Annual Conference in San Juan.
- 1-hour lunch meeting during the ASHE 2025 Annual Conference in Denver (schedule for lunch on Saturday, November 15)
- 1-hour monthly meeting with Attendee Engagement Committee
- 1-2 hours of work outside of meetings per month
- Attendance and support of committee events during the ASHE 2026 Annual Conference in San Juan
Responsibilities:
The Attendee Engagement Committee will specifically be responsible for:
- Setting the vision for and leading inclusive and accessible events and programming for events which engage attendees within the hotel space, such as animal therapy, art murals, etc.
- Setting the vision for and leading inclusive and accessible events and programming for wellness, including wellness tips and wellness events, specifically the ASHE Dash and at least one other wellness event.
The Local and Community Engagement Committee (LCEC) will guide ASHE in centering Indigeneity, space, place, and people by engaging with local Indigenous communities, local BIPOC communities, and higher education institutions in the location of the annual conference and by developing resources and opportunities for conference attendees to more fully engage with the conference location
Committee Members:
- 2 Committee Co-Chairs (2)
- 15 Committee Members
This opportunity is open to all Current ASHE Members.
Time Commitment:
- 1-hour monthly meeting with Local and Community Engagement Committee
- 1-2 hours of work outside of meetings per month
Responsibilities:
The Local and Community Engagement Committee will specifically be responsible for:
- Setting the vision for how conference attendees can engage with local Indigenous communities, BIPOC communities, and higher education institutions and developing relationships with groups and individuals.
- Setting the vision for and developing inclusive and accessible resources and learning opportunities for members leading up to the conference, specifically a land acknowledgement and a syllabus.
- Setting the vision for and leading inclusive and accessible events in the local community.
- Setting the vision for, creating, and facilitating a Presidential Session centering Indigeneity, space, place, and people by engaging with local Indigenous communities, local BIPOC communities, and higher education institutions in the location of the annual conference.
The Program Committee will be responsible for crafting the content for the peer-reviewed portion of the program for the annual conference by soliciting proposal submissions through the Call for Proposals and facilitating the peer review process including soliciting and selecting volunteers, and reviewing, and selecting proposals for the Annual Conference.
Committee Members:
- 2 Committee Co-Chairs
- 40 Section Chairs
- 8 Pre-Conference Chairs (Pre-Conference Chairs serve on the Program Committee and are elected or appointed by their respective Council)
This opportunity is open to all Current ASHE Members who have earned a terminal degree.
Time Commitment: (This is estimated and may vary depending on the number of submissions by section)
NEW! To better support committee members, beginning in 2026, Program Committee members will serve a two-year term. In the first year of this cycle, some committee members may be appointed to a one-year term to allow for a staggered cycle.
- 1-hour lunch meeting during the ASHE 2025 Annual Conference in Denver (schedule for lunch on Saturday, November 15)
- 1-hour training meetings in April, May, and June
- 5-8 hours during the reviewer assignment period between April 30-May 15, 2026
- 2-3 hours during the review period between May 15-May 30, 2026
- 5-8 hours after the review period to make initial decisions between June 1-June 15, 2026
- 3-day virtual Program Committee Meeting, week of June 15, 2026
Responsibilities:
The Program Committee will specifically be responsible for:
- Assigning qualified reviewers to each proposal and ensuring each review is completed.
- Making final accept and not accept decisions on each proposal.
- Creating sessions and assigning session chairs and discussants.
The Program Committee will include topical sections, with chairs leading each:
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Administrators & Staff (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should explore the roles, experiences, and challenges of administrators (including academic and student affairs) and staff within higher education institutions, considering the diversity of institutional contexts and individual identities.
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Faculty (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should focus on the experiences of contingent and tenure-stream faculty across diverse institutional settings, highlighting how various identities and experiences shape their roles and challenges in higher education.
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Ecosystems and Community Partnerships (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should examine how diverse actors, organizations, and forces—both within and beyond institutions—interact to shape higher education policy, practice, and outcomes. Emphasizing the relational nature of these dynamics, this section includes scholarship on community-university partnerships and engaged research that centers collaboration, shared knowledge production, and social transformation.
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Graduate and Professional Education (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should focus on the broader aspects of graduate and professional education, such as program development, curriculum design, and faculty support. Topics may also include recruitment strategies, interdisciplinary opportunities, and diversity and inclusion efforts within graduate programs.
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Graduate & Professional Students and Postdoctoral Scholars (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should address the experiences of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, focusing on academic success, career development, and well-being. This includes topics like mentorship, mental health resources, financial support, and community building for these groups.
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Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should highlight scholarship that intentionally moves beyond traditional higher education studies to engage interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspectives. Submissions are encouraged to critically examine how applying frameworks, methods, and questions from other disciplines can challenge, expand, or reimagine the boundaries of higher education research and practice.
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International Higher Education (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section examine international, internationalization, and comparative issues in higher education. Research in this section may focus on a wide range of topics including policy, organization, and governance within an international/comparative context.
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Leadership (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section may focus on leadership practice, theories, conceptual frameworks, and varied approaches to leadership. This section includes examinations of the leadership roles of formal and informal institutional leaders.
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Organization and Administration (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should examine the processes, functions, and challenges of higher education organizations, institutions, and administration.
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Philosophy, Theory, and Foundations (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should examine the philosophical and foundational underpinnings of higher education, including core debates and assumptions that shape the field. This section also invites proposals that critically engage with theory and its (mis)use in higher education scholarship, especially those grounded in broad epistemological frameworks such as critical, postmodern, and other paradigms.
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Research Methods (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should focus on the study of research methods. This includes the application of new or emerging methods in social science research.
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Policy, Finance, and Economics (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should examine the decisions, interventions, implications, and effects of higher education policy. This may include papers related to the politics of financing higher education at the state and federal levels, including the effects of financial aid policy.
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Teaching and Learning (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should examine teaching and/or learning processes across higher education. Proposals may also focus on student learning outcomes assessment, teaching evaluations, or institutional assessment.
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Technology (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should explore how technological innovations and disruptions—such as artificial intelligence, social media, and digital platforms—are shaping higher education. Submissions may examine the broad impacts of technology on institutions, teaching and learning, research, policy, and the experiences of students, faculty, and staff.
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Undergraduate Students: Access (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should relate to undergraduate student access and pathways to higher education.
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Undergraduate Students: Contexts (4 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section may examine the various contexts through which undergraduate students experience higher education.
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Undergraduate Students: Developmental Theory (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should relate to undergraduate student identity, identity formation, or student development/al theory.
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Undergraduate Students: Persistence, Resilience, and Retention (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should examine undergraduate student persistence, resilience, retention, and outcomes of various student populations, as well as interventions (institution and/or system-wide).
- Undergraduate Students: Outcomes (2 Co-Chairs): Proposals for this section should focus on the educational, social, and career outcomes of undergraduate students, exploring how different experiences and supports impact their success after or during college.
Open Call for Conference Committee Members
The Attendee Engagement, Local and Community Engagement, and Program Committees are opportunities for ASHE members to get involved with the Association. Committee members are selected by the committee chairs through a mix of applications and recruitment. For all of these positions, we seek members who will provide outstanding leadership to an association committed to advancing excellent scholarship across the multiple and varied domains of higher education and contributing to the discourse by linking higher education scholarship to policy and practice. In selecting individuals, we will be attentive to the vast diversity of ideas and perspectives, backgrounds and values, and communities and commitments that our association represents, seeking leadership attentive to all.
Timeline & Process:
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Interest forms must be received no later than Thursday, September 18 at Noon Mountain/Denver Time.
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Decisions will be sent out in early October.
Interest Form
To submit your interest, please complete the application form which will ask for the following information:
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Name
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Organization/Institution
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Position/Title
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Email address
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Committee Preference(s)
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If Program Committee: Ranking of top 3 Sections
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A bulleted list of your previous involvement with ASHE
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A summary of your interest and qualifications for the Conference Committee, including any prior committee experience and/or involvement in ASHE or other relevant settings. If you’re applying for the Program Committee, please discuss your relevant expertise to the section(s) you are applying for (200 words maximum).
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Agreement to ASHE Conflict of Interest, Membership, and Ethics Policies
Do you know someone who'd be great for one of the conference committees? Let us know!
Committee Member Nomination Form
If you have any questions about applying or any of the committee, please reach out to ASHE Executive Director Jason Guilbeau.