Keynote Speaker: Dr. David Laude

Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin

The Association of Deans and Directors (AD&D) is pleased to introduce the keynote speaker for our 34th Annual Meeting, Dr. David Laude, on Friday, April 9, at 10:00 am MT.

The Student-Centered Campus

Dr. David Laude argues that to improve student success on a college campus, every campus should have an expectation that every student will graduate. This should be a collaborative partnership between administrators, faculty, and students.

In an effort to create this culture, The University of Texas at Austin employed predictive analytics, based on the likelihood of college competition, to direct students into appropriate freshman year scholarship programs that were success and incentive-based. Four-year graduation rates for underrepresented student populations improved from around 35% in 2013 to over 60% in 2018. Students in the University Leadership Network (reserved for 500 student cohorts with the greatest financial need) graduated in four years at nearly double the predicted historical rate. These success initiatives have spread to the classroom, where the non-passing rates of historical, large gateway STEM courses have dropped from 20% to 30% to less than 10%.

Plan to join us for this informative Keynote Presentation to learn from Dr. Laude and his institution's proven practices.

Dr. Laude has received numerous awards, including the Regents Outstanding Teaching Award and the William David Blunk Memorial Professorship, as a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at The University of Texas at Austin. Laude was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in the college of Natural Sciences from 1997 until 2010, when he became Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. He served as Interim Dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2011-2012, and as Senior Vice Provost and "graduation champion" from 2012-2018.