ACSD stands for the Association of Christians in Student Development (www.acsd.org). While there are several other professional organizations dedicated to student affairs (such as NASPA or ACPA), ACSD is the only one that views our work with students from a distinctly Christian perspective. Each year, ACSD holds its national conference at a member school. The last two conferences were held at Biola (Los Angeles) and Wheaton (Chicago). We are happy to announce that LeTourneau has been chosen to host the national conference for 2020. That means 500-700 student affairs professionals from institutions across America will be on our campus June 1-4, and we’re very excited about it.
- ACSD @ LETU
- How to Get Involved
- Conference Schedule
- Attend ACSD
- Submit a Workshop Proposal
We have the opportunity not to just serve as a location for the conference, but to plan the program, plenary sessions, and worship to develop an experience that will feel authentically LeTourneau. The theme we have chosen is “Good Work.” We all understand that work in higher education can be difficult, and we rarely if ever feel like we have truly “completed” our work with students. But the work we do is of inherent value. Our workshops and plenary sessions will focus on teaching and modeling racial reconciliation, increasing access and support for first-generation college students, caring for students’ emotional and spiritual needs, and helping students lead a more embodied life apart from digital technology. We have an exciting line-up of speakers and you can learn more about our theme from the video below.
We are very excited to have the opportunity to host this conference June 1-4, 2020 and to share our campus and our distinct culture with other professionals from across the country. Thank you to everyone who has already been involved in helping with the Good Work of partnering with Student Life and ACSD 2020.
We’ve already had several people on campus volunteer to help in a variety of ways, and we hope to involve as many members of our community as we can. Volunteer opportunities will range from simple things like directing attendees to locations, to bigger responsibilities like leading teams of volunteers. Wanda Davis will be serving as our coordinator for volunteers. We are also hoping that members of the LETU community will be interested in presenting workshops during the conference itself. With hundreds of guests on campus, we would greatly appreciate the help of many campus volunteers. Please consider helping us welcome conference attendees to LeTourneau and execute our conference plans.
Here are some highlights for the conference schedule that might be the most interesting to our LETU community. A complete schedule with full details will be available soon on the ACSD website.
Friday, May 28 - Sunday, May 31
- New Professionals Retreat at the Abbott Aviation Center
Sunday, May 31 - Monday, June 1
- Pre-Conference Gathering
- Racial Inclusion Foundations
Monday, June 1
- 8:45 AM - 1:00 PM | Pre-Conference Gathering
- The Good Work of Christian Student Affairs
- 5:00 | Opening reception
- 7:30 | Plenary Speaker: Doreen Dodgen Magee
Tuesday, June 2
- 8:45 AM | Worship and Devotional
- 9:15 AM | Plenary Speaker: Justin Giboney
- 11:00 AM | Workshop Session #1
- 2:00 PM | Workshop Session #2
Wednesday, June 3
- 9:30 AM | Worship, Devotional, and Announcements
- 11:00 AM | Plenary Speaker: Taryn Ozuna Allen
- 1:30 PM | Workshop Session #3
Thursday, June 4
- 8:45 AM | Workshop Session #4
- 9:45 AM | Plenary Speaker: Larry Crabb
- 10:30 AM | Worship, Closing Thoughts, and Commissioning
The ACSD Conference is geared toward those working in Student Affairs and related areas, but has broader application and benefit to anyone working with college students. Because of the costs and logistics of hosting this conference, we cannot make the conference fully available to all LETU faculty and staff. However, LETU employees are welcome to attend the Plenary sessions that will be held in the Belcher Center.
These sessions are:
- Monday evening keynote: Doreen Dodgen Magee
- Tuesday morning keynote: Justin Giboney
- Wednesday morning keynote: Taryn Ozuna Allen
- Thursday morning keynote: Larry Crabb
Any LETU employees who wish to attend the entire conference may register for the conference. Most attendees will be traveling quite a distance and staying in LETU’s residence halls. If you would like to attend the full conference but stay at your home, you may register as a Commuter Attendee. Those presenting workshops may present without registering for the full conference. If workshop presenters want to attend the full conference, they will need to register as explained above.
Throughout the conference, we will learn from the best thinking and practice of practitioners in higher education. We would be honored to review your relevant workshop proposals! The purpose of The Association of Christians in Student Development Conference is to equip Student Development professionals to infuse their faith into practice and scholarship.
We hope that the ACSD 2020 workshops will be meaningful times of learning and collaboration where connections are made, critical topics are explored, and ideas are shared that can benefit our good work with students.
Proposals will be evaluated and selected based on the following criteria:
- Content quality, relevance, and mission fit
- Diversity of presenter voices
- Wide range of topics
- A distinctively Christian view on relevant topics, especially:
- Reconciliation and justice
- Student care
- Access and support for all students and particularly underserved populations
- The promotion of healthy embodied living
- Practical and hands-on
- Alignment with ACSD purpose and core values
Thank you and we look forward to seeing your work!
When do I need to submit a proposal for consideration?
Workshop proposals can be submitted from December 16, 2019 until March 16, 2020. After this proposal deadline, the submitted proposals will be assessed and communication about participation be delivered by April 17, 2020.
Do I need to register to attend the conference if my workshop is approved?
Those presenting workshops may present without registering for the full conference. To attend the full conference, please register to attend by visiting the "Attend ACSD" tab above.
