Association for University Regional Campuses of Ohio seeks proposals for 31st Annual Conference

Ohio University Chillicothe will host the 31st annual conference for the Association for University Regional Campuses of Ohio (AURCO) on April 11-12.

The theme of the 2025 conference is Cultivating and Maximizing Human Intelligences in Regional Higher Education. Conference sessions will address the questions of how higher education might better infuse creativity, critical thinking and community collaboration into academic work, and how human thinkers curate information with more purpose and value.

The AURCO Conference seeks to foster a dialogue among scholars, practitioners and policymakers who are passionate about advancing human intelligence in a technology-driven world. An opening reception and Ignite Talks will be held in the Stevenson Center at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11.

The conference committee invites students, faculty and staff to submit proposals for presentations, workshops and discussions. The proposal submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 17.

Proposals for quick-paced (five-minute) Friday Night Ignite Talks can be on any topic. Presentations will be scheduled back-to-back prior to the Friday night reception. Presenters can submit optional PowerPoint presentations prior to the conference. Submit your 250-word abstract online.

Faculty proposals for standard presentations may cover any area of interest or concern to faculty at regional campuses. This may include, but is not limited to, topics such as online or traditional pedagogy, service, research, the impact of unions, workload, recruitment and retention, working with student groups, community interaction, experiential learning, service learning etc. Submit your 250-word abstract online.

Full papers can be submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed AURCO Journal, which is now indexed in the EBSCO databases. AURCO Journal Manuscript Submission Guidelines are available on the AURCO website. Faculty are also invited to submit proposals for workshops or short courses and roundtable discussions.

Students are encouraged to present talks or posters. Competitive poster presentations can be related to any discipline. Team presentations are welcome. All posters will be presented simultaneously before lunch on April 12. Students will be asked to display their posters and discuss their work with attendees and judges. The poster presentation competition winner will receive a plaque and a book scholarship. Students can find information about presentation submissions on the student presenters web page.

Although there is no cost to attend the conference for student presenters, all attendees must register for the conference, so the organizers have an accurate count for food and materials.

For more information, visit the conference website.

Questions or inquiries about the conference should be directed to conference co-chairs Greg Obi or Debra Nickles.