Thursday, April 16

Presidents’ Convening

Rosenthal Pavilion

Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012

New York University

 

8:00 – 8:30 AM ET – Breakfast & Networking

 

8:30 – 8:45 AM ET – Opening Remarks

• Zoe Ragouzeos, PhD, LCSW, Vice President, Student Health, Mental Health, and Wellbeing, New York University
• Keith Buffinton, PhD, Executive Director, LearningWell Coalition

 

8:45 – 9:30 AM ET – Presidential Panel: Preparing Students for Flourishing in Career

Presidents discuss how their institutions are redefining success to include outcomes beyond graduation, especially the capacity to flourish at work.

• Elizabeth de Leon Bhargava, JD, President, Guttman Community College
• John B. King, JD, PhD, Chancellor, The State University of New York
• Hilary Link, PhD, President, Drew University

Moderated by: Marvin Krislov, MA, JD, President, Pace University

 

9:30 – 10:30 AM ET – Industry Panel: Understanding the Rising Generation at Work

Leaders from business and nonprofit sectors reflect on how new grads are arriving to their first jobs, where they’re struggling, and what’s missing from the college-to-career pipeline.

• Andrew Davis, MBA, Executive Vice President and Global Chief People Experience Officer, Sony Music Entertainment
• Sabrina Ellis, MS, Chief People Officer, NBA
• George Pierson, MS, JD, MBA, President, Pierson Advisory Group; Partner, ARA Services Partner; Former CEO, Kleinfelder; Former CEO, Parsons Brinckerhoff
• Suzy Welch, MBA, journalist and author; professor and Director, Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, NYU Stern School of Business

Moderated by: Keith Buffinton, PhD, Executive Director, LearningWell Coalition

 

10:30 – 10:45 AM ET – Break

 

10:45 – 11:45 AM ET – Facilitated Fishbowl Discussion: Young Adult Mental Health: Emerging Challenges and Strategic Responses

Discussion topics will include challenges around bias, speaking across differences, political instability, social media and AI, and financial insecurity. Presidents in the audience will rotate into the discussion to contribute.

• Linda Mills, JD, MSW, PhD, President, New York University
• Jennifer Mnookin, JD, PhD, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Laura Rosenbury, JD, President, Barnard College

Moderated by: Marjorie Malpiede, MPA, Editor-in-Chief, LearningWell magazine

 

11:45 – 12:15 PM ET – From Crisis Response to Proactive Wellbeing: What the Data Shows

This session draws on the newly published white paper, Transforming Mental Health Culture in the Higher Education Community, from the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Public Good Project informed by The Princeton Review Mental Health Survey. It explores the shift in recent years from a focus on mental health to a more comprehensive approach to wellbeing on campus. This conversation will focus on how this shift has impacted access to services, creating both opportunities and barriers for students. Panelists will discuss what this new model for wellbeing means for campus communities and highlight emerging trends shaping the future of mental health in higher education.

• Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, PhD, Deputy Director US, Ruderman Family Foundation
• Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, Princeton Review
• Michael N. Christakis, PhD, Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment, University at Albany
• Carrie Landa, PhD, Executive Director, Student Wellbeing, Boston University

 

12:15 – 1:00 PM ET – Lunch

 

1:00 – 2:00 PM ET – Keynote

Scott Galloway, MBA, NYU professor and bestselling author of The Algebra of Happiness and the recently published Notes on Being a Man

Interviewed by: Patrick Egan, PhD, Professor of politics and public policy and inaugural director of NYU’s Berkley Institute for Civil Discourse and Civic Solutions

 

2:00 – 2:45 PM ET – Panel: Formative Education

Campus leaders cover institutional strategies that build the traits (agency, purpose, belonging, character, sense of identity) graduates need to navigate uncertainty, find meaning, and flourish.

• Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, President, Vassar College
• Michael Dennin, PhD, Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning and Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education, University of California Irvine
• David Quigley, PhD, Provost, Boston College

Moderated by: Linda Mills, JD, MSW, PhD, President, New York University

 

2:45 – 3:00 PM ET – Closing Reflections & Next Steps

Linda Mills, JD, MSW, PhD, President, New York University

 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

• 5:15 PM ET: A shuttle will depart the PUBLIC Hotel NYC (215 Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002), dropping off at NYU’s Rosenthal Pavilion in the Kimmel Center for University Life (60 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012).  for the Welcome Reception and Dinner.

• 8:30 PM ET: A shuttle will depart from NYU’s Kimmel Center at the conclusion of dinner, returning to the PUBLIC Hotel NYC.

 

Thursday, April 16, 2026

• 7:30 AM ET: A shuttle will depart from the PUBLIC Hotel NYC, dropping off at NYU’s Rosenthal Pavilion in the Kimmel Center for University Life for the Presidents’ Convening. Breakfast is available at 8:00am ET. Guests checking out of the hotel can bring luggage on the shuttle to be securely stored at the event.

• 8:10 AM ET: A shuttle will depart from the PUBLIC Hotel NYC, dropping off at NYU’s Rosenthal Pavilion in the Kimmel Center for University Life for the Presidents’ Convening in time for 9:00am ET programming. Guests checking out of the hotel can bring luggage on the shuttle to be securely stored at the event.