Rural Student Success Unconference

RSSU 2022

Join the University of Georgia for our third annual virtual rural student success unConference: Roadmaps to Rural Student Success on February 22-24, 2023. The unConference will be held from 4-5 PM on Wednesday and 12 - 5 PM on Thursday and Friday (Eastern Time). This year we will focus on three areas:

Rural Cartographies: Creating Roadmaps for Rural Youth
On the Road: Understanding Rural Student Success Inside and Outside the Classroom
The Road Ahead: Where Rural Students Go Post-Graduation

Our unConference will include keynote speakers, a selection of collaborative and higher learning rooms, as well as unique opportunities for networking. Registration is now closed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an unConference?

For this gathering, we borrow the concept of the unConference from the technology and business worlds and will focus not on formal research presentations but on conversations with researchers, practitioners, policy makers, students, and the community. This will be the University’s second national convening on the status of rural access into and through higher education and support for students once they arrive on campus—one we believe will inspire new considerations on policies and practices for the future of rural student success.

What can I expect if I attend?

Attendees can expect a welcoming and engaging environment where you will hear from keynote speakers with aligned, facilitated breakout discussion sessions centered on various subtopics on rural student success. Attendees will be able to select the breakout sessions that are of most interest to them.

If you'd like to view past keynotes, please click the hyperlinks in the past program schedule below.

What is the unConference schedule?

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023

4:00 - 5:00 PM - The Night Before the unConference Event:Get to know each other as University of Georgia's Rural Student Ambassadors host Rural Student Jeopardy!

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

12:00 - 12:15 PM - Welcome by Dr. Marisa Pagnattaro

12:15 - 1:30 PM - Keynote - Rural Cartographies: Creating Roadmaps for Rural Youth

Featured speaker: Dr. Amy Price Azano (Ph.D.): Virginia Tech

1:30 - 2:30 PM - Breakout Session #1: Choose between three categories of breakout sessions: collaborative, higher learning, and netweaving.

2:45 - 4:00 PM - Keynote - On the Road: Understanding Rural Student Success Inside and Outside of the Classroom

Featured speaker: Dr. Stevie L. Lawrence II (Ph.D.): SREB (Southern Regional Education Board)

4:00 - 5:00 PM - Breakout Session #2:Choose between three categories of breakout sessions: collaborative, higher learning, and netweaving.

Friday, February 24th, 2023

12:00 - 12:15 PM - Welcome

12:15 - 1:15 PM - Student Voices and Rural Stories Panel:Hear from three current University of Georgia students as they share their experiences as rural students in higher education.

Featured panelists: Abbie Earnest, William Redding, and Molly Sims

1:00 - 2:30 PM - Collaboration Hour: Missed an opportunity to collaborate in yesterday's breakout sessions? Here's your chance to chat with unConference attendees across the country.

2:45 - 4:00PM - Keynote - The Road Ahead

Featured speaker: Dr. Stephanie Sowl (Ph.D.): ECMC Foundation (Educational Credit Management Corporation)

4:00 - 4:45 PM - Roundtable Panel: The Roundtable Panel consists of researchers, staff, and students and will explore what's ahead for rural student success research and innovation.

Featured panelists: Griffin Boykin, Nicole McConnell, Ty McNamee, Morgan Pope, and Stephanie Tirado

4:45 - 5:00 PM - Closing by Dr. Naomi J. Norman

Who are the keynote speakers?

Amy Price Azano (Ph.D.): Virginia Tech

Dr. Amy Price Azano is the founding director of Virginia Tech's Center for Rural Education and a faculty member in the School of Education. A first-generation college student, Azano grew up in a small rural town in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and taught high school English before earning her Ph.D. in Education at the University of Virginia in 2009. At Virginia Tech, she directs the Summer Enrichment Experience and the Supporting Autism Friendly Environments (SAFE) Program. She is also the Principal Investigator for the Appalachian Rural Talent Initiative, Chair of the Rural Education Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association, and co-editor of The Rural Educator. Dr. Azano’s scholarship focuses on equity issues in rural schooling, with a focus on special populations and adolescent literacy. She co-authored the first text dedicated to rural preservice education, Teaching in Rural Places: Thriving in Classrooms, Schools, and Communities; co-edited The Bloomsbury Handbook of Rural Education in the United States;and has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Stevie L. Lawrence II (Ph.D.): SREB (Southern Regional Education Board)

Stevie L. Lawrence II joined Southern Regional Education Board in September 2019 as vice president for postsecondary education. In this role, he will lead SREB’s postsecondary programs, such as the Academic Common Market, Doctoral Scholars Program, education data services and state authorization reciprocity agreements. He will also be charged with developing additional initiatives to support postsecondary state offices and institutions.

Lawrence comes to SREB from Fort Valley State University in Georgia, where he is founding dean of the University College and previously led student affairs and enrollment management. He has also held positions at the University of North Carolina system, Shaw University, Virginia Union University and Halifax Community College. His background includes strategic leadership in academic affairs, specifically in student success and retention.

Lawrence earned a bachelor of arts degree from North Carolina A&T State University, a master of public administration from North Carolina Central and a doctor of philosophy in urban higher education from Jackson State University.

Stephanie Sowl (Ph.D.): ECMC Foundation (Educational Credit Management Corporation)

Dr. Stephanie Sowl is a program officer at ECMC Foundation and oversees a portfolio of grants that work to increase college persistence and completion for students from underserved backgrounds. Stephanie completed her PhD in Higher Education from Iowa State University and her dissertation explored how college access and enrollment were spatialized across the United States and the role community context played in creating college-going cultures in rural areas. Her other research interests include residential mobility for college graduates and how people- and place-based factors influence decision-making. She has worked in higher education for more than a decade in areas such as academic advising, retention coordination, data management under a federal research grant, and college access and success research and programming.

When is the unConference?

February 22-24, 2023

Who can attend?

Anyone who is interested in rural student success is welcome to attend the unConference including faculty, staff, and students, researchers, policy makers, parents, supporters, and others!

What are the registration rates?

Registration for 2023 is closed.

What forms of payment do you accept for the registration fee?

We are only accepting online credit card payments.

UGA employees can pay via two methods: (1) you can pay via personal credit card and be reimbursed by your department or (2) your department can pay the registration fee directly through an intra-university payment. If you would like to have your department process payment this way, please have your business manager email us at rural@uga.edu to coordinate payment details.

How can I register?

Registration for 2023 is closed.

Where is the unConference located?

The 2023 unConference was held virtually.

My question is not listed here. Who can I contact with questions?

All other unConference questions can be emailed to rural@uga.edu

Past unConference Schedules and Videos

2023

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023

4:00 - 5:00 PM - The Night Before the unConference Event: Get to know each other as University of Georgia's Rural Student Ambassadors host Rural Student Jeopardy!

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

12:00 - 12:15 PM - Welcome by Dr. Marisa Pagnattaro

12:15 - 1:30 PM - Keynote - Rural Cartographies: Creating Roadmaps for Rural Youth

Featured speaker: Dr. Amy Price Azano (Ph.D.): Virginia Tech

1:30 - 2:30 PM - Breakout Session #1: Choose between three categories of breakout sessions: collaborative, higher learning, and netweaving.

2:45 - 4:00 PM - Keynote - On the Road: Understanding Rural Student Success Inside and Outside of the Classroom

Featured speaker: Dr. Stevie L. Lawrence II (Ph.D.): SREB (Southern Regional Education Board)

4:00 - 5:00 PM - Breakout Session #2: Choose between three categories of breakout sessions: collaborative, higher learning, and netweaving.

Friday, February 24th, 2023

12:00 - 12:15 PM - Welcome

12:15 - 1:15 PM - Student Voices and Rural Stories Panel: Hear from three current University of Georgia students as they share their experiences as rural students in higher education.

Featured panelists: Abbie Earnest, William Redding, and Molly Sims

1:00 - 2:30 PM - Collaboration Hour: Missed an opportunity to collaborate in yesterday's breakout sessions? Here's your chance to chat with unConference attendees across the country.

2:45 - 4:00PM - Keynote - The Road Ahead

Featured speaker: Dr. Stephanie Sowl (Ph.D.): ECMC Foundation (Educational Credit Management Corporation)

4:00 - 4:45 PM - Roundtable Panel:The Roundtable Panel consists of researchers, staff, and students and will explore what's ahead for rural student success research and innovation.

Featured panelists: Griffin Boykin, Nicole McConnell, Ty McNamee, Morgan Pope, and Stephanie Tirado

4:45 - 5:00 PM - Closing by Dr. Naomi J. Norman

2022

*Click the red hyperlinks below to view keynotes and panel from 2022.

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

9:00 AM - Welcome by President Jere W. Morehead

9:10 - 10:40 AM - Keynote: Rural Student Identity: A Panel Discussion

Featured speakers: Dr. Darris Means - University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Sonja Ardoin - Appalachian State, Jenay Willis - University of Pittsburgh, Ty McNamee - Teachers College of Columbia

10:45 AM – 11:45 AM - Pick-Your-Discussion Room

11:45 AM-1:00 PM - Lunch Break

1:00 PM - Reconvene

1:10 - 2:25 PM - Keynote: Rural Education and Workforce: The Case for Making Rural a Policy Priority