Annual Premier Thought Leadership Event Will Convene Top Higher Education Leaders to Dissolve Norms and Confront Assumptions in Order to Overcome Public Concerns, Enrollment Struggles, and Political Challenges.

BOSTON, MA – June 9, 2025

Encoura®, an educational data science, technology, and research organization, announced today the final lineup of leaders and innovators slated to address Eduventures® Summit 2025 in Chicago. The annual event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for higher education leaders to be empowered with the latest research, intercollegiate connections, innovative strategies, and powerful keynote lessons from distinct industries.

Eduventures Summit will reimagine higher education in light of current challenges – population shortfalls, softening demand, cost pressures, questionable return-on-investment, labor shortages, politicization – that are stoking tensions. These realities demand a rethink, a reimagining of what “college” looks like for many students. Not the same-old “college for all” but taking seriously why a growing proportion of Americans – nontraditional students, parents, lawmakers, employers – doubt conventional college, and how to reengage them with something new. 

This year’s Eduventures Summit, hosted by Encoura’s Eduventures Research division, will take place at the Loews Chicago Hotel on June 16-18, 2025.

Confirmed headliner presentations include:

• "The Urgency of Alternative Credentialling" by Kathleen deLaski, Founder & Board Chair, Education Design Lab
• "Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders: City Year’s Model for Student and Civic Growth" by Valencia Koker, Senior Vice President & Executive Director, City Year Chicago
• "Politics In Turbulent Times for Higher Education Leaders" by Jonathan Martin, Politics Bureau Chief and Senior Political Columnist, POLITICO
• "Understanding How to Create True (Identity) Loyalty" by Americus Reed, Whitney M. Young, Jr. Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School
• "The Rise of Gen Alpha: A Look at the Driving Forces Shaping Our Next Generation" by Clint! Runge, CEO & Founder, Archrival
• "The Call to Unite: The Power of Dignity for Life" by Tim Shriver, Chairman, Special Olympics International
• “A Presidential Fireside Chat” with Jeff Stein, President, Mary Baldwin University and Eric Turner, President, Lasell University

In addition to these keynote sessions and expert panels on AI in the enrollment office and the three-year bachelor’s degree, Eduventures analysts will present new research and proprietary market data on emerging higher education trends. The Eduventures team will also announce the winners of their annual Innovation Awards, a distinguished conferment to colleges who break the mold in areas of enrollment management, student experience, and student outcomes. 

“There is no easy path to higher education reinvention. What to keep, where to invest, and what to drop are fundamental questions for higher education leaders used to an ‘all things to all people’ legacy approach,” said Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, Encoura. “One thing is for certain: higher education needs a big, unifying, expectation-defying idea to turn the tide toward popular esteem and political support. Eduventures Summit has secured a roster of speakers who will tackle the issues head-on, walk through innovative institutional strategies, and leave attendees informed, inspired, and united toward a stronger tomorrow for higher education.” 

To view the full conference program and details, visit: https://encoura.org/summit. To speak to event organizers, contact Todd Boullion at toddb@encoura.org.