Convocation 2025 Schedule and Highlights
Published on Aug 19 2025Welcome to the month of August! Attached you will find the schedule for this year’s pre-convocation and convocation activities scheduled for August 20-22, 2025. We will be offering sessions in multiple modalities – face-to-face, virtual, and hyflex – so please notice the modality or modalities listed with each session description. We also realize the challenges that can accompany hyflex sessions, so we will have folks supporting the presenters by monitoring the zoom chat rooms during the hyflex sessions.
Highlights of the 2025 Convocation Schedule include:
- Optional, pre-convocation sessions focused on Distance Education tools, AI, and Canvas updates Wednesday,
- An optional orientation for our Associate Faculty colleagues on Wednesday afternoon, August 20.
- Connection time beginning with coffee/tea and donuts in the Administration Breezeway on Thursday morning.
- Face-to-face general session that welcomes us to the new academic year and celebrates our colleagues with employee recognition and awards.
- A host of interesting and helpful breakout sessions from your colleagues Thursday afternoon and throughout the day on Friday.
- Academic Division Meetings on Friday morning from 9am – 11am.
- A “Welcome Back Mixer” at Old Growth Cellars on Thursday from 5pm – 7pm, sponsored by the CR Foundation
Our keynote speaker for Thursday’s general session is Dr. Deone Zell, with a presentation entitled “AI and the Future”. Deone Zell is a Professor of Management at California State University, Northridge, where she has taught for 27 years. She previously served as Director of the Faculty Technology Center and Associate Vice President of Academic Technology, leading emerging technology initiatives for CSUN and the CSU system. She is also an Artificial Intelligence Faculty Fellow, helping faculty integrate AI into teaching. Author of three books and numerous articles on organizational change, technology, and innovation, she currently teaches over 300 management students, engaging them in redesigning courses for an AI-driven future. She earned her doctorate in education from UCLA..
Reminder: pre-convocation activities are optional/non-contract days.
Please note: campus offices will be closed on Thursday, August 21st from 9am – 1pm to allow for maximum participation in the general session and lunch.