Welcome to the proposal submission and review portal for the Higher Ed Hive: Midwest Conference. The Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies (SWCHRS) at the University of Oklahoma, in partnership with Oakland Community College, is excited to announce the inaugural Higher Ed Hive: Midwest Conference, taking place May 27-28, 2026, at Oakland Community College in Auburn Hills, MI. This exciting initiative is designed to bring together thought leaders, educators, and practitioners to critically engage with some of the most pressing challenges facing higher education today. The Higher Ed Hive is designed to foster regional collaboration, build new scholarly and practitioner networks, and catalyze innovative solutions across areas critical to the future of higher education.
Call for Proposals
We are pleased to invite proposals, submissions, and recommendations for the upcoming regional Hives. All Higher Ed Hive events are guided by eight thematic focus frames that address the most urgent and transformative areas in higher education. We welcome contributions that offer insight, strategy, and innovation across the following areas:
- Civic Discourse and Engagement: Methods for engaging across ideological and socioeconomic divides, campus-based or community-based dialogue programs, empathy-building and deliberative democracy practice, the role of algorithms in shaping political opinions and polarization, and misinformation and media literacy in civic digital spaces.
- Financial Aid: Exploring the complexities of financial aid systems, including the implications of rising costs, burgeoning student debt, and management of aid resources.
- Student Access and Opportunity: Strategizing how best to serve nontraditional college student populations, including formerly incarcerated individuals, those experiencing homelessness, parenting students, older adults, and military-affiliated learners.
- The Transition from Learning to Work: Preparing students to navigate an evolving labor market, addressing skills gaps, and promoting lifelong learning pathways.
- Pedagogy: Reimagining teaching and learning frameworks to meet the needs of students with a range of learning experiences.
- Redefining and Reimagining the Academy: Empowering institutions to (re)define their missions in teaching, research, community engagement, and innovation, while reinforcing their commitment to the public good.
- Leadership Development, Policy, and Ethics: Equipping leaders with the tools to drive ethical, policy-informed decision-making in an increasingly complex higher education landscape.
- Student Leadership Development: Examining models of civic engagement and student organizing, and exploring approaches to supporting protest, advocacy, and activism within higher education contexts.
Managing Your Submission
If you need to make changes to your submission, you can do so by making edits to your proposal in the “My Submissions” tab. Do NOT submit the same proposal again.
Important Dates
- Proposal Submission Deadline: March 13, 2026
- Decision Notification: March 27, 2026
- Conference Dates: May 27-28, 2026