2023 Best Practices Forum

The Office of Organizational Strategy and Change, with support from sponsors Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Executive Vice President Craig Johnson, is pleased to announce the return of the Best Practices Forum on May 3, 2023. The Forum gives visibility and awareness to other units at Northwestern and how they approach a range of challenges and opportunities to drive toward successful change. Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, Vice President & Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor of Communication Studies, will deliver the keynote address.

We are hosting the event in partnership with Norris University Center and Northwestern IT in both place-based and virtual formats and are inviting a larger audience to celebrate staff contributions to the University during a time of ongoing change.

Forum Schedules:

The Forum is an invitation-only event for Northwestern staff. Mid- to upper-level staff leaders with responsibilities for planning and implementing strategic priorities for their school/unit are invited to attend the place-based Forum. Other exempt staff are invited to attend the virtual Forum.

The two tables below show the schedules for each event format. Click on any of the hyperlinks to learn more about the remarks and presentations.

Place-based Attendee Schedule

*Place-based attendees may view this virtual session in designated viewing rooms at Norris.
Time	Session
8:30–9:00 AM	Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00–9:50 AM	Welcome and Introduction Opening Remarks with Kathleen Hagerty Provost and Professor
10:00–11:00 AM	Strategic Hiring: Partnering with Talent Acquisition	Empowering Computer Science Undergraduates to Lead	Smartsheet: A New Hope*
11:15 AM–12:15 PM	Aligning New Employee Training with Principal Accountabilities	Reimagining How We Do Business: Contract Management	The Opportunity of Uncertainty: Interdisciplinary Innovation and Open-ended Process*
12:15–1:00 PM	Buffet Lunch
1:00–2:00 PM	Keynote Remarks by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman Vice President & Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor of Communication Studies Presentation: “Don’t Go Into the Basement: What Horror Movies Can Teach Us About Leadership”

Virtual Attendee Schedule


Time	Session
8:30–9:00 AM	N/A
9:00–9:50 AM	Welcome and Introduction Opening Remarks with Kathleen Hagerty Provost and Professor
10:00–11:00 AM	Smartsheet: A New Hope
11:15 AM–12:15 PM	The Opportunity of Uncertainty: Interdisciplinary Innovation and Open-ended Process
12:15–1:00 PM	N/A
1:00–2:00 PM	Keynote Remarks by Robin R. Means Coleman Vice President & Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor of Communication Studies Presentation: “Don’t Go Into the Basement: What Horror Movies Can Teach Us About Leadership”

Please contact Aspasia Apostolakis Miller at 847-467-0651 or a-apostolakis@northwestern.edu with any questions. 