Presidents, provosts, and other higher education leaders from across the country gathered at Florida Polytechnic University on Sept. 29-30 to explore new directions in the field at the annual Higher Education Innovation (HEI) 2025 Presidents’ Conference.
“This conference will help prepare you as leaders to clearly communicate the value of higher education at your institution to the key stakeholders, including the public and policymakers in both state and federal government,” said Dr. Mary Landon Darden, president of HEI.
The event featured keynote speeches and dynamic sessions on leadership, innovation, and higher education’s changing landscape.
“When we look at the evolving role of the college president, you’re being asked to do so much more than you were 10 years ago,” said Dr. Monique Reeves, executive vice chancellor of the Office of the Future at Austin Community College in Texas. “Successful presidents today must simultaneously honor institutional traditions while navigating rapid technological and social change.”
The event also featured leaders from industry and higher education professional services, including Katie Stretch, senior vice president at Walt Disney World Resort, who discussed multidimensional leadership as a framework for success, and Nitzan Pelman, founder and CEO of Climb Together, who explored how artificial intelligence can help tackle the hidden job market.
Dr. Devin Stephenson, president of Florida Poly, led the event’s campus hospitality and was the featured speaker in a special session on transforming higher education with bold, innovative leadership.
“We need to operate at the speed of business, and that demands innovation and disruption,” said Stephenson, who was honored with HEI’s Lifetime Leadership Award at its 2024 meeting. “Because Florida Poly is so different from every other institution in Florida, I have to think far into the future about how we innovate and disrupt.”
Florida Poly is the only state University in Florida exclusively dedicated STEM education.
“I want to be the influencer, not the influenced,” Stephenson said. “That mentality as a leader forces me to be innovative and to think far ahead.”
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
