Association-wide education sessions for the 2009 Convention will change and expand to meet the needs of delegates.

This year, the sessions will come in two formats: the traditional panel discussion and a more interactive arrangement with small, round-table conversations. Many of the 20 session topics will relate to the theme of the Convention, “Engaging our Communities Through Academics, Athletics and Leadership.”

Topics such as “Best Green Practices at Work on Campus” and “Sportsmanship: Addressing Fan Behavior” will assist athletics departments with some of the hottest national issues that touch college sports. Sessions such as “The Athletics Department as an Instrument of Community Engagement” will further the Convention’s theme and help institutions make an impact locally.

The Association-wide sessions were first offered in 2001 with six topics. Among them were sessions on the hiring of women and minorities and corporate sponsorship agreements – two issues still discussed today. In 2002, the number of sessions nearly doubled, including offerings on emergency preparedness, hazing and the role of the senior woman administrator.

The addition of the Association-wide sessions was intended to enrich the overall experience for all attendees and increase the value of the Convention to the membership.

As the years have passed, the number and quality of sessions have risen, as have the number of people who attend them. In Nashville in 2008, sessions on historically black colleges and universities, the APR and student-athlete pregnancy attracted large audiences.

In Washington, D.C., in 2009, the changes in format for some sessions and a variety of topics – including always-popular issues such as work and life balance and corporate sponsorships – are guaranteed to continue to attract delegates.