The 2024 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference brought together thousands of professionals from academia and private industry to San Antonio to engage in relevant education topics. It was a chance to showcase the city, which hosted the event. EDUCAUSE also created an opportunity to highlight UTSA, according to Vanessa Hammler Kenon, program chair for the conference and UTSA associate vice president of technology compliance and community engagement for University Technology Solutions.
“It was an absolute honor to represent UTSA and the city of San Antonio as the 2024 EDUCAUSE Program Chair, welcoming so many higher-education professionals to our great city,” Kenon said. “Many attendees also visited various UTSA campus sites and had a chance to experience our world-class university.”
UTSA had 88 staff and faculty members representing the university at EDUCAUSE 2024, which saw nearly 8,000 participants from around the world. In addition, UTSA students participated thanks to Kenon, who has brought students to the conference as a longtime supporter of EDUCAUSE.
“It’s great to be involved with EDUCAUSE as a student this early in my career,” said Olubunmi Joseph, a senior majoring in cybersecurity at UTSA and an EDUCAUSE Professional Pipeline Student Scholarship recipient. “I feel better interconnected with professionals, which is something a lot of people cannot say.”
Kendra Ketchum, UTSA vice president for information management, discussed university leadership and student involvement in the work to advance the fields of cybersecurity, data science and research computing. The panel for this presentation included a diverse roster of students and Juan B. Gutiérrez, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics.
“This panel really demonstrated how UTSA weaves students, staff and faculty into the mission of these fields. It’s up to our leaders to curate these outcomes and align them with student success,” said Ketchum.
Student representatives from the UTS Bold Careers Experiential Learning Program discussed their current involvement supporting the next generation of IT students from the classroom to the workforce.
“I started coming to EDUCAUSE before I was involved in education technology — as I am in my current role,” said Melissa Vito, UTSA vice provost for academic innovation. Vito’s presentation focused on the influence of education technology in developing leadership, supporting student success and investing in faculty growth.
“This conference is forward-thinking, future-focused and has touched areas of education where we need to be thinking more about technology — student retention, strategic enrollment and overall student success. I have continued to attend and participate in the annual EDUCAUSE conference as a place of community, new ideas and fun.”
UTSA representatives from Academic Technologies, the Office of Risk & Emergency Management, Student Success, the Department of Enrollment Marketing and Communications, and the Libraries also attended EDUCAUSE.
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