November 15 | Student Union | 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Registration is closed
Thank you for your participation in the 2023 UT Thrive Summit!
The Office of the Provost and Division of Student Success present the UT Thrive Summit, a professional development opportunity open to the entire Volunteer community. In alignment with UT’s Strategic Vision and the Volunteer Experience initiative, the UT Thrive Summit invites faculty and staff to engage with and examine topics on academic success that create conditions for every student scholar to thrive and succeed.
Purpose
The UT Thrive Summit provides an opportunity for members of the Volunteer community to engage in thoughtful dialogue and activities to:
- Understand the vision behind the university’s strategic investment in student well-being.
- Discover well-being practices to incorporate in the classroom and beyond.
- Learn from UT faculty who are currently incorporating well-being strategies in their classrooms.
- Engage with scholars and the campus community about the Volunteer Experience initiative.
Keynote Speaker
The Summit’s keynote speaker is Dr. Arthur C. Brooks. Brooks is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership, happiness, and social entrepreneurship. He is also a columnist at The Atlantic, where he writes the popular weekly “How to Build a Life” column.
Dr. Brooks has authored 13 books, including the 2022 #1 New York Times bestseller From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life and Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier with co-author Oprah Winfrey. During this event, Brooks will present on research and national trends that present a call to focus on lifting the well-being of our scholars to enhance their personal and academic success.
Summit Schedule
| 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. | Lunch |
| 12 p.m.-12:15 p.m. | Welcome – Provost John Zomchick |
| 12:15 p.m.-1 p.m. | Keynote Session with Dr. Arthur Brooks |
| 1 p.m.-1:10 p.m. | Integrating Well-Being in the Classroom – Vice Provost Amber Williams |
| 1:15 p.m.-2 p.m. | Breakout Sessions #1 1) Table Talk: Strategies for Fostering Well-being in the Classroom – SU 262A 2) Addressing Well-being in Students and Faculty: Initial Results from Course Interventions – SU 270 3) Panel Session: Meeting the Unique Needs of our Scholars – SU 262B 4) PERMA™ Theory of Well-Being: An Introduction to our Framework – SU 262C |
| 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m. | Breakout Sessions #2 1) PERMA™ Theory of Well-Being: An Introduction to our Framework – SU 262C 2) From Theory to Practice: Applying the PERMA™ Framework – SU 262B 3) Strengthening Academic Well-Being with CliftonStrengths: A Tool to Cultivate PERMA™ SU 270 |
Breakout Sessions #1
1:15 p.m.-2 p.m.
Student Union 262A
Dr. Eva Cowell, Haslam College of Business, Management and Entrepreneurship
Dr. Renee D’Elia-Zunino, College of Arts and Sciences, Italian Studies
Laura Knight, Tickle College of Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Dr. Erin McCave, Tickle College of Engineering, Engineering Fundamentals
Dr. Casey Norris, College of Nursing
Dr. Darren Maczka, Tickle College of Engineering, Engineering Fundamentals
The PERMA model was selected as the university’s well-being model due to its applicability in a variety of settings. Are you interested in helping lift our undergraduate scholars’ well-being through your own classroom teaching? Wondering how supporting well-being might look different in a small classroom versus a large lecture hall? This session will be an opportunity to sit with some UT faculty who are currently implementing the PERMA model in the classroom to ask questions and think about how you might apply it in your unique instructional setting.
Student Union 270
Dr. Patrick Biddix, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Higher Education
Dr. Sally Hunter, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Child & Family Studies
Dr. Andy Pulte, Herbert College of Agriculture, Plant Sciences
Dr. Caroline Wienhold, College of Arts Sciences, Biology
While there is momentum regarding lifting the well-being of our students, how are we mutually considering faculty well-being? Research has indicated that when faculty work together to improve students’ academic performance while tending to students’ well-being, the faculty members’ own sense of well-being increases as well. This session will share insights from the Faculty Fellows program as well as findings from early assessments of UT’s Student Success Grant program and examples of how these efforts are affecting the faculty involved.
Student Union 262B
Dr. Erin Hardin, College of Arts and Sciences, Psychology (Panel Moderator)
Aaron Dixon, Division of Student Success, UT Success Academy
Dr. Melinda Gibbons, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences; Counselor Education
Dr. Joe Pierce, Division of Student Life, Office of the Dean of Students
Jayetta Rogers, Division of Student Success, Veterans Success Center
While we are invested in lifting the well-being of all our undergraduate scholars, we also recognize that they come to campus with a diverse array of experiences, talents, and challenges. For many, before we can tend to their holistic well-being, we first need to ensure their basic physical, emotional, and social needs are met. This moderated panel features faculty and staff who serve some of UT’s unique populations of students.
Student Union 262C
Dr. Mark Collins, Haslam College of Business, Marketing
Heather Coker Hawkins, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Art
Dr. Rob Hardin, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies
Dr. Virginia Stormer, Division of Faculty Affairs, Teaching and Learning Innovation
Dr. Martin Seligman’s PERMA™ Theory of Well-Being describes five elements that enable individuals to flourish and live more meaningful lives: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. This workshop will provide an overview of how the university decided to use this framework to support the strategic vision. Participants will be provided with an overview of the framework, including the theories and research behind each of the five elements. *A session will follow in the 2:10 breakout session that will examine examples for practically applying the PERMA model in the classroom and beyond.
Breakout Sessions #2
2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
Student Union 262C
Dr. Virginia Stormer, Teaching and Learning Innovation
Dr. Krystyne Savarese, Division of Student Success, Strategic Initiatives
Dr. Martin Seligman’s PERMA™ Theory of Well-Being describes five elements that enable individuals to flourish and live more meaningful lives: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. This workshop will provide an overview of how the university decided to use this framework to support the strategic vision. Participants will be provided an overview of the framework, including the theories and research behind each of the five elements.
Student Union 262B
Dr. Sally Hunter, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Child & Family Studies
Dr. Patrick Akos, Division of Student Success
This workshop will provide a deeper dive into the five elements of Dr. Martin Seligman’s PERMA™ Theory of Well-Being; positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Participants will be provided examples of how to apply the five elements of the model both in the classroom and beyond. We will consider how the model can be applied in classrooms with different numbers of enrolled students, as well as in various staff and team settings.
Student Union 270
Dr. Amber Williams, Vice Provost for Student Success
In alignment with UT’s strategic investment in well-being, Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment is one tool being employed to help our students understand their unique talents and how they might approach academic success differently than their peers. This session will discuss the philosophy behind using an asset-based approach, review how the CliftonStrengths assessment is used to examine one’s unique talents and abilities, discuss how the assessment is currently being used on campus, and explore how it can be leveraged to lift our undergraduate scholars’ success in the classroom.
Questions
Everyone! Any individual with a passion for higher education and who would like to learn more about students’ well-being and success. This year’s Summit will have a particular emphasis on the current work of our UT faculty.
Questions about the Summit can be directed to Krystyne Savarese, assistant vice provost for Student Success.