The Focus on the First Year Conference at Southern connects colleagues across institutions, fostering collaboration through engaging presentations and discussions.
Information regarding the 2026 conference, including registration, is available.
Why Freedom is Such a Hard Thing to Manage & Other Stories…
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Time: Approximately 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Southern Connecticut State University, Engleman Hall
John N. Gardner, Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education
John N. Gardner is the founder of and a senior fellow with the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition; founding executive director of the University 101 Programs; and distinguished Professor Emeritus of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina (USC). John has been recognized as one of the top ten innovators of US undergraduate education. He in fact coined the term “the first-year experience,” and was the founder of what became that international movement. He has also lived his life as an equity-warrior and continues to do so.
But really, he just wants you to know, he’s a storyteller with a lot of loving Connecticut connections who built an entire professional career and a life’s work out of his “initial failures” as a first-year college student.
In this keynote, John will talk about the history and future of first-year programs, reflecting on what really matters, including innovation, hand-raising, “really” listening to students, the meanings of student behavior, storytelling, social justice, why “freedom is such a hard thing to manage in life,” the role of insight in transformation, and love.
The conference is co-sponsored by the First-Year Experience, College of Arts & Sciences, Office of Faculty Development, and the Division of Student Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University.
Submit a Proposal
We are seeking proposals from area colleagues on research, practice, and policy on the first-year student experience in higher education.
We invite proposals from faculty, administrative faculty, administrators, and student leaders.
Sessions will be 45-minutes, including question and answer.
We encourage engaging, active-learning style presentations.
Proposal due date: March 31, 2026
Proposals are simple – 250 words or less!
2026 Focus on the First-Year Conference Proposal Entery
Register for the Conference
Join us for an engaging keynote with John Gardner, the most influential figure in the world of the First-Year Experience, who will deliver a keynote and also join us for a day of engaging presentations and discussions with area colleagues. Small breakfast, lunch, and lots of coffee will be served!
Register for FOCUS on the FIRST-YEAR Conference
Submit your Conference Fee
Conference fee: $50
Fee waived for students
Institutions who would like to pay for more than one attendee should contact Nicole Henderson (hendersonn1@southernct.edu) for information about how to do so.
About the Conference
In 2023, the First Year Experience (FYE) crew at Southern sought a way to connect with local FYE colleagues at Connecticut colleges and universities. We were in touch with some friends, but we knew there were many more out there who were building or re-imagining FYE programs, and we wanted to hear from them.
So, we did what all good educators do: we asked for money to host them by writing a Faculty Development Grant. Luckily, it was granted, and we sent out emails. To our surprise, we ended up welcoming over 70 colleagues from 20 Connecticut colleges and universities, as well as friends from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey.
We were able to offer 16 exciting presentations and workshops from colleagues at seven different institutions, including public and private universities, as well as the community college, on topics that included in and out-of-classroom experiences, practices, initiatives, and ideas related to supporting and educating first-year students.
The diversity of our presenters and attendees reflected the core of our FYE program at Southern, which we built intending to find a way to include everyone who wanted to be included, including faculty and student affairs professionals, enrollment management administrators, and academic advisors, as well as students and other partners.
For us, the experience was powerful, and it has only gotten better year after year. We learned a lot, laughed quite a bit, and truly enjoyed every conversation. For this reason, we knew we had to make this an annual thing.
Contact
For more information or questions, feel free to contact us!
Nicole Henderson
Director, FYE
Professor of English
Hendersonn1@southernct.edu
Dyan Robinson
Associate Director of FYE
Robinsond6@southernct.edu
Andrew Parzyck
Assistant Professor of Communication, Media and Screen Studies
Parzycka1@southernct.edu