Alumni Experience Schedule & Courses

Tuesday

Registration

4:00 - 9:00 p.m., The Inn. Participants should check in at The Inn and pick up AE registration materials at the front desk. Dinner is on your own.

Sessions will be held on the lower level of The Inn in Oxford AB.

Wednesday

Breakfast

6:45 – 8:00 a.m., Deluxe continental breakfast at The Inn or full breakfast at Martin Dining Hall.

Welcome Back!

8:00 - 8:15 a.m., Welcome and introductions by Jill K. Yates, CMI Committee Chair, and Monica M. Boulay, Executive Director

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say
How Do You Communicate?

8:15 - 9:45 a.m. Barbara J. Tootle, 1.5 hours

Each of us has talked our way out of tough spots. . . and talked ourselves into some as well. You can talk your way into a miserable day or into an outstanding opportunity. This program will take a look at how we communicate our vision and values in the workplace. The presenter will examine multiple communications channels from backstabbing to blogging, memos to mumbles. Practical advice will be shared on becoming a more effective communicator in print and in person.

Appreciative Inquiry
Sustaining Organization Excellence

10:00 – 11:45 a.m. & 1:15 – 5:00 p.m.

Barbara Brewer and Jack Gant, 5.5 hours

Since the 1930’s, organizations have used a “deficit-based” approach to problem solving. It begins with seeking out the problem, the weak link in the system. Then, typically, there is a diagnosis, and alternative solutions are recommended. Appreciative Inquiry challenges this traditional paradigm with an “affirmative” approach, embracing an organization’s challenges in a positive light. AI offers an alternative—to look for what is good in the organization.

Appreciative Inquiry is the cooperative co-evolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them. It involves the discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most effective and alive. The inquiry is based on positive questions and story telling. The quest is towards the energy of the positive core which leads to positive change.

Using the Appreciative Inquiry method, this session will show how traditional models can be shifted from deficit-based to strength-based approaches. The AI approach is based on the beliefs that every organization has much strength. We will explore ways to identify the strengths/positive core and to find ways for the system to re-create itself in the direction of its desired future.

This AI session is based on the belief that leaders offer guidance when an organization is seeking to facilitate change and presents ways to co-create a future that continuously searches out and builds on its highest potential.

In this session participants will gain an understanding of the principles, theories and processes underlying Appreciative Inquiry including:

Social Constructionism

The Power of Image

The Power of the Positive

The 5 –D Process

The Shifting Paradigm of Organizational Change

To experience an Appreciative Inquiry in Sustaining Organization Excellence including:

Inquiring into stories of sustaining excellence both for individuals and teams

Locating themes in the stories to create shared images of the preferred future

Define concrete steps and plans to create that future.

Lunch

12:00 – 1:00 p.m., Marcum 154-8

Dinner

5:30 – 7:00 p.m., The Inn Club Room, 1st Floor

Thursday

Breakfast

6:45 – 8:00 a.m., Deluxe continental breakfast at The Inn or full breakfast at Martin Dining Hall.

Appreciative Inquiry (continued)

8:00 – 11:45 a.m. & 1:15 – 3:00 p.m.

Barbara Brewer and Jack Gant, 5.5 hours

Lunch

12:00 – 1:00 p.m., Marcum 154-8

Concluding Remarks and Certificate Presentation

3:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Picnic and Refreshments

6:00 – 7:30 p.m., Flower/Hahne Quad

Talent Show

7:30 – 9:00 pm., Flower/Hahne Quad

Two Options for AE Participants:

You may choose to extend your stay with an extra night on Thursday, checking out on Friday. Relive your CMI experience by observing the Level I Case Presentations on Friday morning.
You may choose to join Levels I & II at Friday's Luncheon and Awards Ceremony.