Navigating Policy Shifts in Higher Education: A Conference on Strategies for Progress
Live: September 16, 2025 — On-Demand through December 16, 2025
Effenus Henderson
Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion
Effenus Henderson is a global thought leader and trusted advisor on diversity, equity, and inclusion with decades of experience helping institutions transform through inclusive strategy and systemic change. He is president and CEO of HenderWorks, Inc., co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion, and author of SPINE: The DEI Backbone for Agility and Adaptability in a VUCA World. Henderson has helped shape international DEI standards (including ISO 30415) and served on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. His work bridges corporate, academic, and civic spaces to reimagine equity for the challenges of today-and the possibilities of tomorrow.
OPENING PLENARY
DEI Under Fire: Reimagining Strategy for an Inclusive Future
In today’s climate, DEI is under sustained attack-from political leaders, legal challengers, and cultural critics. These efforts seek not only to dismantle programs, but to undermine the very values of equity, inclusion, and belonging in education and society. But this moment also offers an opportunity. Rather than retreat, institutions must evolve: shifting from performative or compliance-based DEI to bold, values-driven, future-focused strategies. This plenary will explore how higher education leaders, faculty, and staff can reimagine DEI as a catalyst for institutional resilience, innovation, and community engagement. We’ll unpack the forces behind the backlash, expose the myths fueling anti-DEI rhetoric, and offer actionable frameworks that protect equity while advancing learning, academic freedom, and inclusive excellence. You’ll leave equipped not just to defend DEI-but to lead it forward. This is not just a fight for programs. It’s a call to reaffirm purpose, reclaim narrative, and realign strategy with the future we’re all trying to build.
Marjorie Hass
Council of Independent Colleges
Marjorie Hass became president of the Council of Independent Colleges in 2021, after years of strengthening independent higher education in various leadership roles. From 2017 until her appointment to the CIC presidency, Hass served as president of Rhodes College. During that time, she expanded the college’s engagement with the city of Memphis, enhanced inclusive excellence, and led a comprehensive and inclusive strategic planning process, positioning the college for success in the next decade. Previously, Hass served as president of Austin College where she defined a strong vision for the college’s future, pairing academic excellence with a commitment to educational access for talented students regardless of financial background, along with a strategic approach to securing the resources needed to achieve that vision. Hass was a member of the CIC Board of Directors from 2012 to 2016 and has been active in the leadership of other prominent higher education associations, serving as a board member of the Association of American Colleges & Universities and as former chair of the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She is the author of A Leadership Guide for Women in Higher Education. She was included on the 2024 list published by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education highlighting 40 outstanding women in higher education and was the recipient of ACE’s 2024 Donna Shavlik Award, which honors an individual whose leadership demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing women in higher education.
CLOSING PLENARY
Principled and Resilient Leadership in Benighted Times
Higher education leaders are navigating rapid shifts in federal policies that affect even mission-critical activities. The additional burden on time and energy is depleting. The anti-intellectual rhetoric that surrounds these changes is dispiriting. And yet the need to support students, faculty, and staff, remains essential. Hass will offer insight based on her several years of cabinet level and presidential experience, sharing how campus leaders can serve as a steadying and ethical force as they lead in this challenging time.