The Kansas Board of Regents’ Michael Tilford Conference on Diversity and Multiculturalism Program Committee seeks submissions for the annual Tilford Conference to be held October 3-4, 2024 at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

The theme for the 2024 conference is "The Harmony of Uniqueness: Advancing Higher Education through Prioritizing Multicultural Innovation and Community Engagement.”

Submission Deadline: August 30, 2024 @ 5:00pm

Notices of Acceptance/Decline: September 16, 2024.

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The Conference Goals 

  • Foster a deeper understanding of the importance of cultural innovation and community engagement in shaping the future of higher education.
  • Provide attendees with practical insights and strategies for advancing belonging, equity, and community initiatives on their campuses.
  • Facilitate meaningful connections and collaborations among attendees, speakers, and industry experts.
  • Inspire attendees to take action and contribute to building a more innovative, culturally rich, and forward-thinking academic landscape.
  • Promote a sense of unity and collaboration that transcends disciplines and institutions, fostering a stronger sense of community within the higher education sector.

Diverse Proposals 

Previous Tilford Conference sessions have focused on topics and presentations including the following. We once again solicit diverse proposals on these or other topics.

  1. Implementing programs to allow faculty, staff, and students to reflect upon and understand their roles and responsibilities as agents of improvement and change in diversity and inclusion.
  2. Strategies to develop a sense of inclusion and belonging for all members of the campus community or workforce.
  3. Improving access to quality higher education in rural and urban areas throughout the state of Kansas.
  4. Strategies to improve recruitment, support, and retention of diverse students, faculty, and staff.
  5. Effective practices for policies, policy proposals, and norms to help to cultivate and support inclusion.

Who Should Propose to Present at Tilford?

Everyone is welcome to propose a paper, poster, roundtable, or workshop at this year’s Tilford Conference. This includes students, faculty, staff, and administrators at colleges and universities, as well as community members and business/industry partners. Submitting a proposal does not register you for conference attendance. Separate registration is required.

Conference Format 

In 2024, the Tilford conference will have a two-day in-person format. We invite proposals for five types of sessions:

  • Individual papers (one individually written paper, which conference organizers will group with individual papers into a panel) 
  • Student Paper Sessions (graduate, and undergraduate)(one individually written paper, which conference organizers will group with individual papers into a panel) 
  • Student Poster Sessions (graduate, and undergraduate) (visual presentation of research or project)
  • Panel Discussion (Discussion w/ 3-5 people about a topic)
  • Workshop (This is a hands-on on engagement session for participants with specific takeaways)

Each conference room includes a screen and projector; presenters are responsible for any additional audiovisual or technology needs. Finally, we ask session proposers to identify one or more of the following audiences for their session: students, faculty, staff, administrators, and local communities.

Submissions are evaluated by a team of conference organizers for topic, time, relevance to the conference theme, and relevance to diversity, multiculturalism, and belonging in higher education.

Submission Instructions

Proposal submissions can be sent through our proposal form. Proposals will be accepted until August 30, 2024 @ 5:00pm. We are unable to accept late submissions. Notices of acceptance/decline will be sent on September 16, 2024.

All proposals must include the following to receive full consideration regardless of proposal type: 

  1. Name of Presenter or Session Organizer
  2. Position and Institutional affiliation of the presenter or session organizer
  3. Title of proposed presentation/session/paper or poster
  4. Select One Proposal Type:
    1. Individual papers (one individually written paper, which conference organizers will group with individual papers into a panel) 15-20 min max
    2. Graduate Student Paper Sessions (one individually written paper, which conference organizers will group with individual papers into a panel) 15-20 min max
    3. Graduate Student Poster Sessions (visual presentation of research or project)
    4. Panel Discussion (60min) (Discussion w/ 3-5 people about a topic)
    5. Workshop (60min) (This is a hands on engagement heavy session for participants with specific takeaways)
  5. Who is the specific audience of your session? (Please select one)
    1. Faculty
    2. Staff
    3. Students (Undergrad/Graduate)
    4. Administrators
  6. What are three keywords related to your session
  7. Please provide a session abstract (100-250 words)
  8. Email of the Presenter or session organizer
  9. Do you have others joining you in your presentation/paper panel?
  10. Name, position, institutional affiliation, and email addresses of all others participating in the presentation. This is required only if you have additional presenters or paper panel (optional if you haven’t arranged others in your paper panel and want to be assigned).

Submit Proposal Grading Rubric