2025 PHENND Conference: From Financial Aid to Economic Inclusion – Feb 21

Posted by PHENND on November 12, 2024

Register now for the 2025 Annual PHENND Conference!

Friday, February 21, 2025
8:30 AM-4:45 PM
Arcadia University, Glenside, PA

The PHENND Conference is an annual gathering for practitioners of campus-community partnership. This gathering will be attended by 100-125 students, campus staff, faculty, and community organization staff active in community service, service-learning, and campus-community partnership work. While primarily targeting individuals who are part of the 25+ colleges and universities involved in the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND), this event is also open nationally to practitioners of campus-community partnership.

Register here on Eventbrite.

Theme

This year’s theme is From Financial Aid to Economic Inclusion: The Intersection of Money and Community Engagement.

Opening Keynote Speaker

We are pleased to announced that President Ajay Nair of Arcadia University will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Nair, a nationally recognized expert in student affairs issues and an accomplished social justice, race, and ethnicity scholar, was appointed 22nd president of Arcadia University in April 2018 and inaugurated on October 13, 2018. Dr. Nair is the first person of color to be appointed president at Arcadia, and is among the first college or university presidents of Indian-American descent in the United States.

Lunchtime Plenary

The Opening Plenary, “Conversations About College Affordability and Completion: How America Pays for and Completes College” will be presented by Keri Neidig of Sallie Mae. This discussion will dive into the findings of two Sallie Mae national research studies. How America Pays for College focuses on the funding sources families rely on, and how they have changed over time. How America Completes College focuses on the differences between those who complete from those who do not complete their education.  Keri’s presentation will lead into a panel discussion of how these national reports translate into the every day experience of students and administrators.

Keri’s presentation will be followed by a panel of Arcadia University affiliates who will provide some on-the-ground context of these themes. Panelists will be:

• Holly Kirkpatrick, Associate Vice President for Financial Aid & School Certifying Official
• Shaliyah Braxton, Senior Associate Director of Admissions – Access, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Norelys Perez, First Year Student, Health Sciences Major

Workshops

The following workshops have been confirmed with more to be announced in coming weeks.

• Housing as a Pathway to Economic Inclusion: Community-Based Housing Intervention for Students Experiencing Homelessness (DePaul USA)
• Addressing Student Basic Needs: Innovative Campus Support Strategies (West Chester University)
• Building Equitable Partnerships: A Responsive Approach to Community Engagement (Penn Grad School of Education)
• Building Bridges Across Generations: Equitable Co-Housing Solutions for Anchor Institution Students and Community Members Desiring to Age in Place (Drexel University)
• Federal Work Study: A Service Roadblock, Detour or On-Ramp (Rutgers, Campus Compact & Siena College)
• Starting a “Students In Need” Task Force (St. Joe’s)
• The Wharton Undergraduate Tax Preparation Collective (University of Pennsylvania)
• Engaging with Experts in Our Community (La Salle Non-Profit Center)
• Anchor Institutions and the Issue of Affordable Housing (University of Pennsylvania)
• Anchor Procurement and Community Relationships – Powering Local Business (University of Pennsylvania)