About UCEA

President's Letters

Regional Meetings Recap

As President this year, I had the rewarding experience of attending four out of the five regional meetings this Fall. Rich Novak, President-elect, attended the Mid- America/Great Plains meeting, which I was able to attend last year, and was also able to join me at two of the other meetings. Rich and I began our Fall travels in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the end of September and ended in Boston in early November with a meeting of UCEA's Executive Committee and the first ever UCEA/China Continuing Education Association Forum, hosted by the University of Massachusetts Boston.

CE Around the Country

The intensive travel schedule this past October for both of us moved us around the country to meet old friends, make new acquaintances, discuss "what's hot" in continuing education, share lessons learned, and discover new places. Rich was particularly encouraged by the number of younger professionals at the meetings he attended and the very diverse backgrounds these new members bring to our field. I was also very impressed with the extensive planning by all of the regional committees, which generated a rich variety of quality presentations as well as many energetic and fun networking activities.

Looking back, I remember enjoying a dutch oven dinner while riding a 1907 steam locomotive train through the Rocky Mountains at sunset; going to "CE Sailing School" in Annapolis, Maryland, and staying in an historic inn; enjoying a sunset dinner outdoors at Daytona Beach, Florida, and touring the famous Daytona Speedway; and, finally, staying in a beautiful resort in quaint Stowe, Vermont, while the leaves provided a gorgeous array of hues throughout the countryside. Thus, all of the meetings provided lovely settings for us to relax in and reflect on the state of our profession.

We learned about effective e-marketing techniques, institutional practices that support distance learning, and generational differences related to the use of technology, workplace expectations, and how we appeal to our diverse audiences. We "scaled new vistas" in the West and in the East were reminded that we cannot change the force or direction of the gales we encounter; however, we can change how the sails are set. We explored entrepreneurial approaches to support the growth in noncredit, degree completion, and certificate programs for the adult market in the South and several New England colleagues shared how continuing education activities had been reorganized, restructured, or redesigned, leaving us much food for thought as we look to the future within our own institutions.

Strategic Visioning

Rich Novak and I used some time at each of these meetings to share progress to date and solicit feedback regarding the strategic visioning process that the UCEA Board of Directors has recently undertaken. In general, there has been much affirmation for the draft visioning statement, which has been posted at UCEA's Member Form for your continued review. Many members have underscored the importance, vitality, and changing roles of continuing education units within higher education institutions and support expanded roles in UCEA's office for advocacy for and research about the profession. The Board of Directors will gather in January to finalize the statement and determine implications for the Association. Your feedback is still useful until then, so please visit UCEA's web site to add your comments.

At the conclusion of my travels, I arrived back in the office with a variety of souvenirs, many pages of notes to share with my Provost and institutional colleagues, and a renewed sense of the important work we do. While memories of my experiences with many of you this Fall have begun to recede into the background with the usual press of business that was left behind at the office, I continue to marvel at the resiliency of our members to think creatively and maintain a sense of optimism, in spite of the challenges currently faced by our institutions.

Best wishes for a restful holiday season and a happy and healthy new year ahead.