Educational Opportunity Program

"Building Opportunity with 2020 Vision:  Stronger Together"

Description:

This conference will focus on the ways in which we can collaborate to build a culture and future with great opportunities for all.  EOP has been on the SUNY New Paltz campus for over 50 years and First World has been active for nearly as many.  This conference will discuss our personal foundations, the mission of opportunity programs and underrepresented students in higher education, and how we contribute to our future as individuals by building equity in our campus community and taking those skills into the wider world.

Important Dates:

All session proposals & papers due: March 16^th, 2020

Notification of acceptance: March 30^th, 2020

Pre-conference workshop materials due (for printing): April 6^th, 2020

Regular presentation materials due: April 15^th, 2020

EOP Conference: Saturday, May 2nd, 2020

Call for Proposals & Papers:

The EOP conference serves many purposes.  The EOP Alums are provided an opportunity to reconnect with the program and meet current students.  Current students gain networking experience and benefit from mentoring of Alums.   This year we are joined for this event by the First World Reunion community, giving an opportunity to for wider variety in our presentations and building on wider communities for our current students to network.

The conference also provides information, educational materials, and a forum to showcase presentation skills for Alums and students.

All these aspects of the EOP conference serve to strengthen the EOP family connection and program, and this year we enthusiastically look forward to hearing from our First World Graduates as well.

What is the focus of this year’s conference?

This conference will focus on the ways in which we can collaborate to build a culture and future with great opportunities for all.  EOP has been on the SUNY New Paltz campus for 50 years and First World has been active for nearly as many.  This conference will discuss our personal foundations, the mission of opportunity programs and underrepresented students in higher education, and how we contribute to our future as individuals by building equity in our campus community and taking those skills into the wider world.

In this call, we seek proposals for:

• Alumni presentations - one or more Alums presenting on a related topic
• Student presentations- one or more Current students presenting on a related topic
• Alumni/Student Presentations- Presentations given by combinations of current and past students

All proposals can address core EOP and First World principles of community, leadership, achievement, history, and future planning.  These should be discussed through the concept of foundation building on a personal, programmatic, or community level.

We encourage submissions from all alums and students. We will choose our presenters from submission that are timely and in the requested format.

Theme & Topics:

This year's theme is “Building Opportunity with 2020 Vision: Stronger Together” and we wish to examine three things:

• students and alums as builders of a personal vision for growth that positively contribute to the program and community
• students and alums as creators of the leaders that create opportunity, ie: how to nurture and develop our future leaders
• relationships: how alums and current students can take the foundations they build here forward into the world post-degree and create stronger Communities.

Note: Marketing pitches will not be accepted.

Workshop types:

Alumni or Student Program Sessions - Presentations

Sessions are typically 45-75 minutes, but another length can be proposed if appropriate.

Successful submissions will be judged on the following attributes:

• Contribution to opportunity in practice, theory and community
• Value and appeal to conference attendees
• Original, inspirational or thought-provoking content

All submissions must be made via E-mail.  When submitting a proposal for a regular session, please include:

• Overview Information (in the proposal form)
• Title of session
• Name of Presenter(s)
• Type of presentation – Alum or Student
• Full contact information on the person submitting, who will be the sole contact person regarding the proposal
• Summary or Abstract (up to 500 words)
• Proposal description (as an attachment):
• Description of Session (1 to 3 pages)
• Core EOP-related issues addressed o Suggested session length
• Type of session
• Keywords/tags/topics (see the proposal template for more details)

• Speaker details (as an attachment):
  
  • Speaker Biographies (1 or 2 paragraphs each).

Templates for conference workshops and speaker details contain lists of information required. You do not have to use these templates, but must provide information for each heading in the template, and must not include speaker details in the same document as the proposal description. These templates are in .doc and .pdf format, please contact us if you would like an alternate format.

Conference Schedule:

10:15am – 11:15 am  EOP Biennial Conference Check-in/Registration   

11:30 am – 1:00 pm   EOP Biennial Conference

                                 Welcome & Opening SUB 62/63

                                 Keynote Speaker and Forum

1:45 – 2:45 pm           Stronger Together Working Panel                 

                                 (Presenters to be announced)

3:00 – 4:00 pm           Stronger Together Workshop Session 2                    

                                 (Times and Presenters to be announced)

5:30 – 7:30 pm           Conference Awards Dinner                                       

The traditional closing to the EOP Conference, an opportunity to come together to celebrate special achievements and members of our community. 

First World Alumni Reunion Events and Registration

If you have any additional questions, please contact Jessica Purcell at purcellj@newpaltz.edu or (845)257-3226.