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| 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Registration & Info Booth Open |
| 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Pre-Conference Session: "Enduring: The Power and Practice of Purposeful Leadership" with Zach Mercurio. See below for session details. |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. | Opening Session - Welcome & Business Meeting |
| 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Keynote Address - Zach Mercurio |
| 2:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Interest Sessions, Corporate Partner Fair and Breaks |
| 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. | Dinner and Entertainment hosted at Venue 1235 - shuttles provided |
Thursday, September 25, 2025
| 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Registration & Info Booth Open |
| 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Interest Sessions, Corporate Partner Fair, Town Halls, Breaks |
| 11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch / Business Meeting |
| 1:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Interest Sessions, Corporate Partner Fair, Breaks |
| 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Past President Reception |
| 6:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m. | Dinner & Entertainment Out in Downtown Lawrence on Massachusetts St. - shuttles provided. *Note - meal not provided by the conference. Guides will lead groups to various restaurants. |
Friday, September 26, 2025
| 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Registration & Info Booth |
| 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. | Round Tables, Interest Sessions and Breaks |
| 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Closing Speaker - Dr. Cameron Piercy |
| 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Closing Business Meeting |
The 2025 KACRAO Annual Conference program is coming soon.
Click here to view session titles from the 2024 conference.
Featured Speakers and Guests
Opening Keynote
Zach Mercurio is an author, researcher, and leadership development facilitator specializing in purposeful leadership, mattering, and meaningful work. He advises leaders in organizations worldwide on practices for building cultures that promote well-being, motivation, and performance.
Zach holds a Ph.D. in organizational learning, performance, and change and serves as one of Simon Sinek’s Optimist Instructors, teaching a top-rated course on creating mattering at work. His new book is The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance. His previous book is The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with The Power of Authentic Purpose.
He’s been featured in The Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Psychology Today, The Denver Post, and on ABCNews.
Closing Speaker
Cameron W. Piercy (PhD, University of Oklahoma) is an Associate Professor of Relationships and Digital Media. He is the founding director of the Human-Machine Communication Lab. He researches dynamic socio-technical networks facilitated by new media, especially in organizational contexts. His dissertation, “Strength of weak ties and the modern job search,” won the NCA Human Communication Technology Division outstanding dissertation award. His research is published in communication, technology, organization science, and psychology journals including: Communication Research, New Media & Society, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Business Communication, and Mobile Media & Communication.
Dr. Piercy teaches undergraduate and graduate classes focused on teams and groups, human-machine communication, computer-mediated communication, organizational communication, and social network analysis.
AACRAO Board of Directors Representative
Chris Huang - AACRAO Vice President for Information Technology
Chris serves as the Vice President for Academic Systems and Completion Strategy at Ivy Tech Community College – Systems Office. Chris’ experience in higher education began as an admissions counselor at his alma mater, Calvin University (nee College). Most of his career has been as a registrar at small and mid-size, private and public colleges and universities. Prior to joining Ivy Tech, Chris was the Associate Chancellor and Registrar at Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Chris’ AACRAO involvement includes being a past chair of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus, past chair of the State and Regional Relations Committee, and as past vice-chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee. Chris lives in Northwest Indiana (considered part of Chicagoland) with his wife, Carla, and has two children, Alex who is studying accounting at Purdue University, and Morgan, who is in high school.
Pre-Conference Session: "Enduring: The Power and Practice of Purposeful Leadership" with Zach Mercurio
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.
DoubleTree by Hilton Lawrence Conference Center
Cost: $50 (added at time of conference registration)
KACRAO is excited to offer this impactful pre-conference session with speaker and consultant Zach Mercurio. The session will enable attendees to reflect and build upon their leadership skills and efforts in fostering a culture of mattering within their teams and institutions. The first 25 registrants will receive a copy of Zach's newly released book, The Power of Mattering. Additional book copies will be available for purchase.
KACRAO Annual Conference Service Project:
Ballard Center Donation Drive
KACRAO's annual conference service project for 2025 will support the Ballard Center, a 501(c) non-profit organization that partners with individuals and families to achieve stability through early childhood education and needs-based services in Lawrence and Douglas County.
All conference participants are encouraged to bring donation items, which will be collected at the conference registration area and delivered to the Ballard Center at the conclusion of the conference on Friday.
Click here for suggested donation items. Nonperishables, diapers, and miscellaneous hygiene products are in high demand.
All conference attendees who contribute a donation will receive a raffle ticket for a prize to be raffled at the conference closing session on Friday.
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