As President of the Association for Continuing Higher Education, I am delighted to welcome you to the 70th Annual Conference and Meeting in Nashville. The entire Program Committee, under the leadership of Sandra Gladney and Susan Elkins, have been working for well over a year to assemble a slate of keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, workshops, and roundtables to address many of the critical issues, challenges, and opportunities emerging in continuing higher education. Our local arrangements team from Murray State University, led by Dan Lavit and Brian Van Horn, have worked in conjunction with the staff of the uniquely spectacular Gaylord Opryland Resort to assure that both the facilities and the many diversions associated with the Conference offer attendees and their guests a first-rate experience. I can say with confidence that by participating in the Annual Conference and Meeting this year, you will be assured to have a “grand ole time.”

Our program has been assembled under the theme The Next Generation: Access and Opportunity in Continuing Higher Education. We are entering a new age in continuing higher education, as programs for lifelong learners constitute an important avenue for access for returning students. Simultaneously, repeated surveys of ACHE members reveal that continuing education units will witness considerable transition as a generation of leaders in lifelong learning move from their current positions into the next phase of their professional lives, increasingly referred to as “rewirement” rather than retirement. Their experiences will likely reflect those of their contemporaries, as millions of baby boomers look to college and university campuses to provide sustaining educational experiences.

These are certainly exciting times, with opportunities expanding for programs that serve audiences such as older adult learners, returning adults who lacked access to higher education in earlier stages of their lives, and successful professionals who are seeking to enhance their educational portfolios. Each of these audiences are accompanied by a similar expansion in the diversity of programs and institutions that serve the needs of adult learners. We are thrilled to be your hosts in Nashville, and welcome you to the splendor of the city, the resort, and a Conference and Meeting that we are sure will provide you the opportunity to enhance your work as a professional in continuing higher education.

Sincerely,
Chris Dougherty
 

From the Program Chair & Conference Chair- Coming Soon!