Associated Colleges of the South

Book Chat - Could I Stay or Should I Go? Career Development and Belonging for International Students in the Current American Zeitgeist
2025-08-19 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Book Chat Facilitator: Mohammed Forero Bucheli (Rollins College)

How can liberal arts colleges more effectively support international students’ career development in an era of shifting immigration policies and political uncertainty?This book chat, inspired by The Good Immigrant (edited by Nikesh Shukla & Chimene Suleyman), brings together reflections from a summer ACS reading group that explored how advising structures can evolve to be more inclusive, human-centered, and justice-oriented. The anthology served as a catalyst for conversations about belonging, immigration, and the often-overlooked barriers international students face when navigating life after graduation.

Join us for a cross-campus conversation that will spotlight new ideas and concrete strategies for building more responsive, globally-minded advising practices. Participants will share emerging insights and a collective reflection document designed to spark ongoing dialogue and institutional action across ACS campuses.

Click here for more information.

The Effective Department Chair – Program Session
2025-09-02 09:00 - 10:15, 2025-10-07 09:00 - 10:15, 2025-11-04 09:00 - 10:15, 2025-12-02 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-01-06 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-02-03 09:00 - 10:15
The ACS Effective Department Chair program offers a supportive and practical professional development experience grounded in community, mentoring, and real-world leadership challenges.

This program is designed to help department chairs thrive – not just survive – in their roles.

If you would like more information, please contact Shiree Williams, ACS – swilliams@acsouth.edu

Book Chat - Pedagogy of Kindness by Cate Denial
2025-09-12 11:00 - 12:00
Book Chat Facilitator: Nisha Gupta (Centre College)

Join us for a thoughtful conversation exploring Pedagogy of Kindness by Cate Denial—a timely and compassionate framework for reimagining our teaching in the face of rising plagiarism, student disengagement, mental health concerns, and the evolving landscape of inclusive education. Denial invites us to center kindness not as self-sacrifice, but as a belief in our students’ agency and humanity: “It is about believing my students.”

Members of the ACS summer reading group will reflect on their experience with the book, share practical takeaways, and offer recommendations for applying equitable, student-centered, and sustainable pedagogies. Whether you’ve read the book or are simply curious about its themes, all are welcome to this informal, lunchtime discussion designed to inspire connection, care, and renewal in our teaching practices.

Click here for more information.

Fall 2025 ACS CAO Meeting
2025-09-25 16:00 - 2025-09-26 20:00
Draft agenda and registration link will be shared in July of 2025.

If you would like more information on this event, please contact Ashley Torgerson at atorgerson@acsouth.edu.

Mid-career Advancement Pathways Program - Core Workshop
2025-10-03 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-10-24 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-11-14 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-01-16 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-02-20 14:00 - 16:00
The Mid-career Advancement Pathways Program (MAPP) is designed to help mid-career faculty thrive by developing meaningful goals, plans, and relationships. MAPP is a program for faculty across ACS campuses.

If you would like more information, please contact Shiree Williams, ACS – swilliams@acsouth.edu

Virtual Workshop - PLAI-ing with CLAAI: Critical (and Fun!) Innovation
2025-10-24 09:30 - 10:30
Workshop Facilitators: JT Torres (Washington & Lee) & Lauren Craig Tilton (Richmond)

Join us for an interactive virtual workshop that blends two powerful lenses on artificial intelligence in higher education. Through the PLAI approach, we’ll play with AI tools in low-stakes, creative ways that spark curiosity and reflection. At the same time, CLAAI offers a critical liberal arts perspective that invites us to interrogate AI’s social, ethical, and institutional impacts—asking what’s at stake for students, faculty, and the future of knowledge. Together, we’ll explore how to stay curious, skeptical, and empowered as educators in an AI-infused academic world. No prior experience with AI tools is required, just an openness to experimentation, uncertainty, and adaptation.

Click here for more information.

2025 VP of Student Life & Dean of Students Meeting
2025-11-13 14:00 - 2025-11-14 15:30
Draft agenda and registration link will be shared in August of 2025. If you would like more information on this event, please contact Ashley Torgerson at atorgerson@acsouth.edu.

ACS Spring 2026 CAO Meeting
2026-02-10 16:00 - 2026-02-12 20:00
We will begin at 4:00pm on Tuesday, February 10th and conclude after dinner on Thursday, February 12th.

If you would like more information on this event, please contact Ashley Torgerson at atorgerson@acsouth.edu.

ACS 2026 CFO Meeting
2026-03-25 16:00 - 2026-03-27 17:00
We will begin with dinner on Wednesday, March 25th and conclude by noon on Friday, March 27th.

If you would like more information on this event, please contact Ashley Torgerson at atorgerson@acsouth.edu.

ACS Teaching and Learning Workshop
2026-06-01 08:00 - 2026-06-05 17:00
The Summer Teaching Workshop is a unique annual professional development opportunity for faculty of ACS member institutions at all career stages. It is a challenging and invigorating experience for faculty wanting to strengthen teaching performance, expand teaching techniques and explore pedagogical issues.

If you would like to learn more about the program, please click here.

Registration for this experience requires that a faculty member be nominated by their Chief Academic Officer. Please contact your CAO’s office.

Location: Rollins College, Winter Park, FL

June 2026 ACS Board of Directors Meeting
2026-06-03 12:00 - 2026-06-04 13:00
The June 2026 ACS Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 3rd, and Thursday, June 4th. We will begin with lunch at noon on Wednesday and conclude after lunch at 1pm on Thursday. If you would like more information on this event, please contact Ashley Torgerson at atorgerson@acsouth.edu.
