Session 1 (10:00 - 10:45)

Healing Harmony: A Model for Integrating Musical Outreach into Healthcare Settings

Panel Discussion | Room 218

Speakers: Andrew Granade, Amy Robertson, Karen Savage, Seungchan Song

Description: This panel discussion will highlight how the UMKC Conservatory brings music into hospitals and retirement communities through intentional community partnerships. A panel of faculty, accompanied by a doctoral candidate, will discuss the design, impact, and outcomes of these initiatives, and share their experiences and perspectives.

Where Scholarship Meets the City: Fast-Track Community-Engaged Course Design

Workshop | Room 213

Speaker: Alexis Petri

Description: Community-engaged learning invites students to test their disciplinary knowledge in settings where real people, real challenges, and real possibilities shape the work. This 45-minute interactive workshop is designed for faculty who want to integrate community contexts into their teaching in ways that are feasible, reciprocal, and accessible to all students. The session welcomes participants across all disciplines, whether they are curious beginners or experienced instructors seeking to rethink their approach. The workshop introduces approachable ways to connect coursework with community insight, including partner-informed prompts, reflective practices tied to local issues, and small-scale engagements that strengthen learning without requiring extensive logistics, special funding, or long-term commitments. Rather than prescribing a single model, the session offers a flexible framework that faculty can adapt to the unique patterns of their courses, their students, and the communities they hope to engage. The core of the session is a guided rapid-design activity. Working in pairs, participants identify a disciplinary practice they want students to attempt and a community context where that practice might matter. They then sketch a draft assignment or learning activity, exchange feedback, and refine the scope with attention to accessibility, procedural equity, and the capacity of potential partners. The process highlights design choices that support meaningful engagement while avoiding patterns that inadvertently burden community organizations or create barriers for students.    Faculty will leave with a preliminary activity they can build upon and one concrete next step for moving their idea from concept to practice. This session is ideal for instructors who want their teaching to resonate beyond the classroom and foster thoughtful, community-connected learning.

Early Childhood Mental Health Collective

Fireside Chat | Room 212

Speakers: George Gotto IV, Ryan Belew, Rumpasri Sukonthaman, Leslie Warlen

Description: The Early Childhood Mental Health Collective (ECMHC) is a three-year demonstration program funded by KC's Hall Family Foundation. The goal of the project is to understand the impact of embedding mental health services at five early childcare centers in the KC Metro. The Centers primarily serve low-income neighborhoods where families are likely to experience multiple traumatic episodes. Mental health services provide children, parents, and staff easily accessible, evidenced-based interventions to improve childhood . UMKC's Institute for Human Development (IHD) received a $3.5M grant to evaluate the program's outcomes, document the processes used to establish and run the program, and create career awareness for early childhood mental health careers. 

George Gotto is the Director of IHD and PI for the ECMHC grant. Ryan Belew is the senior researcher and Tan Sukonthaman is the senior research associate for the grant. Leslie Warlen is the assistant director of health and screening at Project EAGLE, who hosts one of the program centers. Join this group of researchers to learn about the complexities of data collection, stakeholder engagement, and mental health protocols in the early childhood setting.

The Care and Success Connection: Practical Strategies for Inclusive and Effective Learning 

Workshop | Room 211

Speakers: Hyeyoung Ghim, Tiffani Riggers-Piehl 

Description: When students feel like they belong, they learn and succeed better in the classroom. In this interactive workshop, participants will reflect on research around sense of belonging, mentoring, and the use of andragogy in the classroom to create caring and effective learning environments for undergraduate and graduate students. Participants will discuss effective practices and consider ways to enhance their communications and course materials to improve belonging, care, and student outcomes.