NAICU’s upcoming Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day, its first in-person meeting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be the premier policy and advocacy event for private, nonprofit college and university presidents and other higher education leaders.
 
Engage with Members of Congress and leading national voices on the challenges and opportunities facing your campus as the nation continues to address the COVID pandemic and the Biden Administration’s policy agenda moves forward during NAICU’s 2022 Annual Meeting Advocacy Day, February 6-9, 2022 in Washington, DC. 
 
With the pandemic continuing, NAICU is committed to protecting the health and safety of all who participate in the Annual Meeting. All attendees and speakers will be required to provide proof of vaccination in order to attend the meeting. The complete Health and Safety Protocols are available on the Annual Meeting website.
 
Additionally, NAICU planners will be responsive in our health protocols and flexible in our programming to ensure we are taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of attendees.  The Grand Hyatt Washington will serve as the conference hotel, reservation deadline for the special conference rate is January 5, 2022.

Throughout the meeting, NAICU will be celebrating the upcoming 50^th anniversary of the Pell Grant program with several special events, including: 

• A plenary session exploring the effects Pell Grants have had on higher education as well as what lies ahead for the program’s future: David H. Feldman, Ph.D., professor of economics, College of William & Mary (VA) and Donald E. Heller, Ed.D., vice president of operations and professor of education, University of San Francisco (CA).
• A special celebratory reception and dinner featuring current and past Pell Grant recipients, Clay Pell, IV, grandson of Sen. Claiborne Pell, the “founding father” of the Pell Grant, and the posthumous presentation of the Advocacy Award to Lois Dickson Rice, the “mother of the Pell Grant.” Ambassador Susan E. Rice, director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council, will accept the award on behalf of her mother. 

Keynote speakers will include Members of Congress, representatives from the Biden Administration, higher education policy experts, a national historian, and a political analyst. Highlights include: 

• Michael Beschloss, presidential historian, NBC News and PBS NewsHour contributor, New York Times columnist, and #1 Best-Selling Author
• James Kvaal, under secretary of education, U.S. Department of Education
• Nathan L. Gonzales, editor and publisher, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and elections analyst, CQ Roll Call. 

This year, NAICU will conduct a special Pre-Conference Summit: Advocating with Purpose on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, February 6 and 7.  The Sunday sessions will focus on the impact of federal policy on your campus, while the Monday sessions will focus on advocacy training and getting an inside look at the higher education policy agenda from key Capitol Hill staff.
 
Other sessions and topics include:

• Restorative Justice and the Role of Faith featuring Rev. David T. Tyson, C.S.C., president of Holy Cross College (IN)
• The Arc of Progress: Title IX at 50 featuring panelists: Art Coleman, managing partner and co-founder, Education Counsel; Kimberly Hewitt, J.D., vice president for institutional equity and chief diversity officer, Duke University (NC); and Independent Scholar Susan Ware
• Effects of the Pandemic on College Student Mental Health featuring Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Ph.D., Ed.M., assistant professor, Department of Health Law Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health 

To register or for more information, see the Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day webpage.