2027 Mentoring and Advising Summit

Save the Date 

10th Annual Mentoring and Advising Summit 
March 5, 2027
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (ET)

Summit Agenda Overview

Session Spotlights

Morning Keynote: Centering Advising on the Interpersonal Relationship (9-10:15 a.m. ET)

Welcome and Introduction: Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Joseph J. McCarthy, University of Pittsburgh
Keynote: Kyle Ross, executive director of NACADA 

Kyle Ross is executive director of NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. Since joining the association in 2012, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including president of the Board of Directors. His research interests include academic and career pathway exploration, solution-focused advising practices, and student retention.

Ross’s keynote session will focus on the crux of advising: the interpersonal relationship focused on the holistic development of students as they navigate their academic journeys. As higher education faces headwinds leading to diminishing budgets, there is a growing importance for advisors to be more intentional with their limited time.

How can advisors make more time for rich relationship-building with students and move beyond transactional interactions? What does holistic advising really mean in practice, and what does it look like across both undergraduate and graduate advising contexts? This session will explore these questions, weave in how advisors can leverage technology to address transactional tasks and empower attendees to advocate for the resources needed to support effective, student-centered advising.

Timely Topics at the Summit

• How might we cultivate #studentsuccess networks and boost student outcomes?
• What are the possibilities to leverage #technology tools as critical elements in our intervention strategies?
• In what ways could we deepen awareness of #collaboration across our systems of academic support? 
• How might we scale #holistic mentoring and advising approaches or theories across our campuses?  
• In what ways do we develop #leadership capacity in our students, faculty, or staff to provide opportunities or build skills?  
• What are the possibilities for building a sense of #belonging for all students on our campuses? 
• How might we extend systems of support across #graduate and professional student populations?

Who Should Participate? 

Any faculty member, staff member, administrator, graduate student, postdoc, or researcher who advises, mentors, or coaches undergraduate students, graduate students, or postdocs.

Why Should You Participate? 

• It is accessible! Thanks to our sponsors, the Summit is a world-class conference at no cost to attendees and can be engaged virtually anywhere in the world.  
• Main stage sessions! Our speakers are leaders in the field who will give you up-to-date information on research-backed topics, trends, and successful strategies. 
• Make new connections! You can network with colleagues who mentor, advise, and coach students and postdocs and share your innovative solutions and strategies.

Important Dates

Call for Proposals

Submissions are open for 2027 Mentoring and Advising Summit! Submit a proposal. 

The Mentoring and Advising Summit will work to balance current and emerging topics, trends, and successful strategies to meet the needs of individuals serving students and postdocs as formal and informal advisors, mentors, and coaches. It will also highlight innovative solutions and strategies.

We invite you to submit a proposal to lead a workshop or lightning talk:

• Workshop: A workshop is a live 45 minute webinar-style session. Workshops allow time for in-depth exploration of a topic and attendee engagement through chat and Q&A. A workshop must be designed so that participants learn specific strategies that can be adapted and implemented in their respective units. Presenters will be asked to engage with participants during the synchronous workshop session timeframe on the day of the Summit. Note: Breakout rooms and video streaming are not available in the Summit virtual platform.
• Lightning Talk: A five-minute pre-recorded video accompanied by a slideshow or visual presentation that focuses on an emerging theory or an innovative strategy, tool, or approach implemented by a unit, department, or program that might be adapted by other units on campus. Presenters will be asked to pre-record and submit in February 1st. Lightning Talks will be uploaded to the Summit virtual platform and available for viewing throughout the conference event. Note: We will not accept videos recorded on mobile devices or without a slideshow or visual component to the presentation.

Instructions for Submitting a Proposal for a WORKSHOP

Your proposal should include:

• Primary Presenter Contact Information: name, title, institution, email address
• Co-Presenter Contact Information (if applicable): name(s), title(s), institution(s), email address(es) 
• Session title (15 words max.) and abstract (150 words max.) to be included in the program
• Structure and content (500 words max.): provide an outline of your presentation along with a concise description of what you will cover in the time allotted, including three to four learning outcomes your attendees should take away from your presentation and references/resources to support your topic
• Timely Topic alignment (select all that apply)
• Professional photo of presenter and co-presenters to be included in program with clearly named file names including the full name of the presenter(s)

Submit a WORKSHOP proposal for the 2027 Mentoring and Advising Summit. 

Instructions for Submitting a Proposal for a LIGHTNING TALK

Your proposal should include:

• Primary Presenter Contact Information: name, title, institution, email address
• Co-Presenter Contact Information (if applicable): name(s), title(s), institution(s), email address(es)
• Session title (15 words max.) and abstract (150 words max.) to be included in the program
• Structure and content (500 words max.): provide an outline of your presentation along with a concise description of what you will cover in the time allotted, including three to four learning outcomes your attendees should take away from your presentation and references/resources to support your topic
• Timely Topic alignment (select all that apply)
• Professional photo of presenter and co-presenters to be included in program with clearly named file names including the full name of the presenter(s)
• Video recording method (Panopto, PowerPoint recording, Teams/Zoom recording, etc.)

Submit a LIGHTNING TALK proposal for the 2027 Mentoring and Advising Summit.