07 Apr 2025
07 Apr 2025

2025 ATS Chief Academic Officers Society Conference

  • Price: $350.00

Overview

This year’s Chief Academic Officers’ Society (CAOS) Conference—Stepping Forward, Shaping Change: Theological School Leadership in Challenging Times—offers academic deans and other senior leaders from across the ATS membership a space to come explore together challenges, opportunities, strategies, and possibilities in the work of academic leadership in theological education. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore emerging issues, hear about exciting initiatives, and grow your skills and ability to manage from the middle, navigating between the president and the faculty, while building the professional relationships and community that can help sustain you in your work.

Whether you’ve attended often in the past or are joining us for the very first time, we invite you to lean into this unique opportunity for encouragement and learning together, as we look toward the future of theological education.

Agenda
MONDAY, APRIL 7

3:00 p.m. 
Registration and Reception|Terrace Promenade

4:00 p.m.
Welcome and Introductions|Terrace Room

Executive Director's Address
Frank M. Yamada, Executive Director, The Association of Theological Schools

5:15 p.m.
Break

6:00 p.m.  
Opening Dinner|Oasis Court

TUESDAY, APRIL 8

8:00 am.
Breakfast|Oasis Court

8:45 a.m.   
Morning Meditation|Terrace Room
Allen Yeh, Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs, International Theological Seminary

9:00 a.m.   
Leading Through Change and Resistance
Tod Bolsinger, Executive Director and Senior Fellow, De Pree Center for Leadership; Associate Professor of Leadership Formation, Fuller Theological Seminary

10:30 a.m. 
Break|Terrace Promenade

11:00 a.m.
Adjusting Our Step: Keeping Pace in Theological Education through a Multivocational Mindset|Terrace Room
Darryl Stephens, Adjunct Faculty and Director of United Methodist Studies, Lancaster Theological Seminary & Moravian University; Director of the Leadership Academy Preaching Institute, Greater NJ Conference, The United Methodist Church; Senior Consultant, Fosgail LLC

12:30 p.m.
Lunch|Oasis Court

1:45 p.m.
Workshop Session I

  • Teaching Them to Fish: A Job-Credential Mismatch in Theological Education?|Harbor Room
    Deborah H. C. Gin, Director of Research and Faculty Development, The Association of Theological Schools
  • The Fiscal Responsibilities of an Academic Dean|Beach Room
    Chris Meinzer, Senior Director and COO, The Association of Theological Schools
  • Competency-Based Theological Education: Modality or Muck?|Lagoon Room
    James R. Moore, Director of Accreditation, The Association of Theological Schools
  • Generative AI and the Standards|Ocean Room
    Barbara Mutch, Senior Director of Accreditation, The Association of Theological Schools
  • Calm in C(H)AOS: Strategies for Nurturing Well Leaders|Terrace Room
    Chelsea Yarborough, Associate Director of Leadership Programming, The Association of Theological Schools

2:45 p.m.  
Break|Terrace Promenade

3:00 p.m.  
Workshop Session II

  • Teaching Them to Fish: A Job-Credential Mismatch in Theological Education?|Harbor Room
    Deborah H. C. Gin, Director of Research and Faculty Development, The Association of Theological Schools
  • The Fiscal Responsibilities of an Academic Dean|Beach Room
    Chris Meinzer, Senior Director and COO, The Association of Theological Schools
  • Competency-Based Theological Education: Modality or Muck?|Lagoon Room
    James R. Moore, Director of Accreditation, The Association of Theological Schools
  • Generative AI and the Standards|Ocean Room
    Barbara Mutch, Senior Director of Accreditation, The Association of Theological Schools
  • Calm in C(H)AOS: Strategies for Nurturing Well Leaders|Terrace Room
    Chelsea Yarborough, Associate Director of Leadership Programming, The Association of Theological Schools

4:00 p.m.
Putting Story to Work: Exploring the Value of Associational Life|Terrace Room

5:00 p.m.  
Free Evening

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9                   

8:00 am.
Breakfast|Oasis Court

8:45 a.m.   
Morning Meditation|Terrace Room
Betty Holley, Academic Dean, Payne Theological Seminary

9:00 a.m.   
Navigating Challenging Conversations I: A Framework for Analyzing Situations We Find Tough|Terrace Room
Ann M. Garrido, Associate Professor of Homiletics, Aquinas Institute of Theology; Consultant, Triad Consulting Group

10:30 a.m. 
Break|Terrace Promenade

11:00 a.m.
Navigating Challenging Conversations II: Strategies for Breaking Through Impasse|Terrace Room
Ann M. Garrido, Associate Professor of Homiletics, Aquinas Institute of Theology; Consultant, Triad Consulting Group

12:30 p.m.
Lunch|Oasis Court

1:30 p.m.
Navigating Challenging Conversations III: Putting It All Together|Terrace Room
Ann M. Garrido, Associate Professor of Homiletics, Aquinas Institute of Theology; Consultant, Triad Consulting Group

2:30 p.m.  
Break|Terrace Promenade

2:45 p.m.  
Leading in Community: The Wisdom of the Room|Terrace Room
Deborah Shadd, Director of Leadership Development, The Association of Theological Schools

4:00 p.m.
Closing Session and Adjourment

Workshops
Accommodations

Hotel Information
You are responsible for the cost of your lodging and transportation to/from Newport Beach. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach at a group rate of $249 for single/double occupancy. The Hyatt Regency is located at 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA 92660. To make your online hotel reservation under the ATS group rate, click here. The deadline to make your room reservation is Monday, March 17, 2025.

Check-in: 4 p.m.
Check-out: 12 p.m.

  • All guests arriving before 4 p.m. will be accommodated as rooms become available. Bell staff can arrange to check baggage for guests arriving early, or when attending afternoon functions on departure day.
  • Hotel room rates are subject to applicable state and local taxes in effect at the time of check-in.

For more details, visit Hyatt Regency Newport Beach.

Parking
Overnight self-parking is available for a discounted rate of $15 per car, per night.
Overnight valet parking is available for $50 per night.

Transportation Information 
A rideshare company is recommended (Uber, Lyft, etc.).

Presenters
Tod Bolsinger

View Bio

Tod Bolsinger

Tod Bolsinger is co-founder and principal of AE Sloan Leadership, Inc., an executive coaching and consulting firm that works with church, nonprofit, university, and marketplace leaders in leading change. He is also the executive director of the De Pree Center Church Leadership Institute, a senior fellow of the De Pree Center for Leadership, and associate professor of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was also the founder of the Fuller Leadership Platform and served as a vice president of Fuller Theological Seminary for six years. Prior to his educational career, he served as a pastor for 27 years. Bolsinger is the author of nine books, including the Outreach Magazine (Resource of the Year in pastoral leadership), Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory (Christian Book Award Finalist), Tempered Resilience: How Leaders are Formed in the Crucible of Change, and the Practicing Change series. He earned his MDiv and PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Ann M. Garrido

View Bio

Ann M. Garrido

Ann M. Garrido has been a member of the faculty at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis since 2000. In addition to teaching, she has served the school in a variety of administrative capacities including director of the DMin in preaching, director of MAPS Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, director of field education, director of distance learning, and director of the Aquinas Ministry Integration Project. Garrido has served as senior editor of Human Development Magazine and is the author of six books including, most recently, Redeeming Administration (2013) and Redeeming Conflict (2016). She earned her DMin in preaching and her MDiv from Aquinas Institute of Theology.

Darryl W. Stephens

View Bio

Darryl W. Stephens

Darryl W. Stephens is a multivocational scholar, teacher, and consultant. At Lancaster Theological Seminary, he teaches ministerial ethics and serves as director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry. In the Greater NJ Conference of the United Methodist Church, he is director of the Leadership Academy Preaching Institute. He also serves as a senior consultant for Fosgail LLC. He is the author of more than 50 articles, chapters, and books, including Bivocational and Beyond: Educating for Thriving Multivocational Ministry (Atla Open Press, 2022) and Trauma-Informed Christian Ethics: Bearing Witness through Love, Justice, and Solidarity in Community (T&T Clark, forthcoming). He holds a PhD in Christian ethics from Emory University and is ordained in the UMC.

Other

Registration Deadline: March 14, 2025

Fees
Conference fee: $350.
Guest fee (if applicable): $75.

You will be invoiced via email.

Cancellation Policy
A refund of the registration fee will be provided upon written request. An administrative fee of $75 will be deducted from refund checks. No refunds after March 31, 2025.

Dress is business casual.

Event Contact
Lauren Johnson

Date & Time
Mon, Apr 07, 2025 , 4:00 p.m. PT —
Wed, Apr 09, 2025 , 4:00 p.m. PT

Location
Hyatt Regency Newport Beach | Newport Beach, CA

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