THE 2025 HESS CONSORTIUM NATIONAL CONFERENCE – EARLY REGISTRATION OPEN
THE BEST NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR SPECIFICALLY PRIVATE, NON-PROFIT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES IN TECHNOLOGY
The 2025 HESS Consortium National Conference on November 12-14, 2025 is the best and most affordable conference in the nation for private, non-profit member institutions! We have technology leaders and professionals from many functional departments this year!
Click here to see the preliminary session schedule.
This will be the first year the HESS Consortium Conference will have a keynote presentation. This year’s presentation will be from two outstanding HESS institution friends, Jill Forrester, CIO and Vice President for Information and Technology Services at Dickinson College and David Weil, Vice President and Chief Information and Analytics Officer at Ithaca College. Their presentation will be centered around their very insightful EDUCAUSE interview video entitled “Pilots, Principles, and Pop-Ins: A Practical Path to Campus AI” that gives some practical steps in the strategic use of artificial intelligence.
2025 HESS National Conference Keynote Presenters:
“A Human Framework for Campus AI: Implementing AI with Purpose and People“
Jill Forrester
Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information and Technology Services at Dickinson College
Jill Forrester is the Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information and Technology Services at Dickinson College. With over two decades of experience in higher education, she leads strategic initiatives in educational technology, enterprise applications, data analytics, and digital innovation.
She sets the strategic direction and oversees the operational execution of Dickinson’s technology landscape, guiding a cross-functional team that advances enterprise systems, data-informed decision-making, innovative teaching and learning technologies, user experience and support, information security, and resilient infrastructure. Under her leadership, the college has adopted a mission-aligned approach to digital transformation, including the creation of a presidential working group on artificial intelligence. This initiative reflects her commitment to integrating AI in ways that uphold the college’s values and promote responsible innovation across the campus community.
A recognized voice in higher education IT, Jill’s work includes a co-authored EDUCAUSE Review article on AI adoption at smaller institutions, and she has been featured on the EDUCAUSE Integrative CIO podcast. She is also a committed advocate for gender equity in technology leadership, having hosted conversations on workplace biases and strategies for fostering more inclusive environments.
She holds a master’s degree in mathematical sciences with a specialization in operations research from Clemson University and is a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. Her leadership is marked by strategic vision, collaborative execution, and a deep commitment to using technology to enrich the student experience and advance institutional effectiveness.
David Weil
Vice President and Chief Information and Analytics Officer at Ithaca College
David Weil serves as Ithaca College’s Vice President and Chief Information and Analytics Officer.
His responsibilities include the areas of Applications and Infrastructure, Engagement and Client Technologies, Information Security, Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, Institutional Research, and the Center for Instructional Design and Educational Technology.
Recognized as a thoughtful strategic thinker, David is the 2024 recipient of the EDUCAUSE Leadership Award – EDUCAUSE’s highest honor – celebrating his dedicated service and visionary leadership to the higher education technology community.
David is an active voice in national conversations about leadership, digital transformation, analytics, and artificial intelligence, with a focus on their potential to advance the mission of higher education. A frequent speaker at conferences, institutes, and panel discussions, he has authored numerous articles and contributed to discussions on these topics. His work has been featured in publications and programs sponsored by EDUCAUSE, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Campus Technology, Ed Tech Magazine, and others.
David played an instrumental role in developing the prestigious EDUCAUSE Executive Leaders Academy, as well as the EDUCAUSE Senior Director Leadership Institute, and regularly serves a faculty member in these and other professional development programs.
In 1991, David founded Ithaca College’s Educational Technology Day, a regional event that focuses on the role of technology in education. This annual event has attracted more than 30,000 attendees since its inception from hundreds of educational institutions and organizations, with over 1,000 participants each year.
David holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in communications, both from Ithaca College.
Member registration is $250 per attendee and will close October 30, 2025. Registration fee includes all sessions, workshops and demonstrations AND all meals for all three days of the conferences. This is the best time of the year to gather together with other private college and university technology and financial leaders from around the country to share ideas, innovations and meet new people!
The HESS Consortium Community is specifically focused on the needs of private, non-profit colleges and universities. Our conference is no different in that our workshop sessions and software demonstration sessions are all tailored to the needs of our member institutions. This year’s sessions will include tracks including, policy/planning and compliance, ERP/SIS implementation/operations, security and identity management, equipment and hardware management and artificial intelligence.
Day ONE will feature presentations from professionals within our own member institutions as well as presentations from our Elite and Platinum sponsor companies on specific session tracks including:
Executive strategy & management, IT governance & policy, administrative enterprise software, cybersecurity, data analytics, A.I. and other emerging technologies & more – all tailored for private, non-profit colleges and universities.
Day TWO will feature detailed demonstration and product update sessions on software from our foundational enterprise systems partners – Anthology, Ellucian, Jenzabar, Oracle and Workday. These sessions will not only show the functionality of the software for potential customers but also updates for companies’ current customers. Day TWO will also include meetings between our HESS Enterprise Systems Cohort members and executives from those major companies to voice praise, feature additions and concerns.
Day THREE will be 1/2 day workshops and presentations from our 2025 Elite Sponsor Partners . Topics will be announced soon!
HESS Member Institutions & Associations |
|---|
Seton Hill University |
Midwestern University |
Midwestern University |
St. Mary’s University (San Antonio) |
Concordia University Nebraska |
Augsburg University |
Dordt University |
Allegheny College |
Midwestern University |
Kalamazoo College |
Kalamazoo College |
California Institute of the Arts |
Washington and Jefferson College |
Asbury University |
Asbury University |
California Institute of the Arts |
Seton Hill University |
Saint Mary’s College |
Flagler College |
Saint Mary’s College |
Cleveland Institute of Art |
HESS Consortium |
Allegheny College |
Moravian University |
American International College |
Moravian University |
Geneva College |
Moravian University |
American International College |
Saint Xavier University |
Saint Xavier Univerity |
Ithaca College |
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences |
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences |
Belmont University |
Saint Xavier University |
Cedar Crest College |
Wabash College |
Union University |
LOW COSTS TO OUR MEMBER INSTITUTIONS
With the support of our 2025 HESS Consortium National Conference Business Partners and Affiliates (below), we have kept our conference fee low for our private college and university members. This year, the conference registration is only $250 per attendee and includes all Day 1 and Day 2 sessions as well as all Day 3 post conference workshops/seminars and all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). The conference standard room rates at the beautiful Galt House Hotel are only $196 per night. Please be aware that an additional night will be needed on the hotel reservation form to attend the post-conference workshops / seminars at the same rates. Please make sure that your reservations reflect this additional night stay.
