2018 Annual Meeting Wrap-Up

More than 1,500 public university leaders gathered in New Orleans for the 2018 APLU Annual Meeting, making it the largest-ever annual meeting.

The meeting's theme, Resilience: Turning Challenges into Opportunities, explored the capacity of universities, their communities, and partners to adapt and thrive no matter what stresses or acute shocks they experience.

At the meeting, APLU named a new board of directors, announced winners of its four institutional awards, and named winners of USDA national teaching awards. Learn more below.

Powered by Publics

Press Release: Public Research Universities Unveil Unprecedented National Effort to Increase College Access, Equity & Postsecondary Attainment
Working with 130 public universities and systems, APLU unveiled at its Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana a massive new effort to increase college access, close the achievement gap, and award hundreds of thousands more degrees by 2025. The participating institutions will work within “clusters” of four to 12 institutions that concurrently implement innovative and effective practices to advance student success on their campuses. Collectively, the institutions enroll 3 million students, including 1 million students who receive Pell Grants. The initiative, called Powered by Publics: Scaling Student Success, represents the largest ever collaborative effort to improve college access, advance equity, and increase college degrees awarded. In addition to committing to those goals, participating institutions have pledged to share aggregate data demonstrating their progress to help spur lasting change across the higher education sector.

APLU Annual Meeting News

APLU Announces 2019 Board of Directors, Ohio State President Michael Drake to Serve as Chair
APLU announced its 2019 Board of Directors. At a ceremony during the association’s 131st Annual Meeting, Ohio State University President Michael Drake became Chair of the Board, taking over for University System of Maryland Chancellor Robert Caret.

APLU Names Wayne State University Winner of 2018 Degree Completion Award
APLU named Wayne State University the winner of its 2018 Degree Completion Award during a ceremony at its annual meeting, which is now underway in New Orleans, Louisiana. The annual award works to identify, recognize, and reward institutions that employ innovative approaches to improve degree completion while ensuring educational quality.

APLU Names Florida State University 2018 Institutional Award for Global Learning, Research, & Engagement Winner; Three Others Recognized for Internationalization Efforts
In recognition of its extraordinary global engagement efforts, APLU named Florida State University the winner of Platinum Level of its 2018 Institutional Award for Global Learning, Research & Engagement. The Platinum Level of the award recognizes institutions at the leading edge of inclusive and comprehensive efforts to internationalize their campuses. The University of Alberta, Arizona State University, and the University of South Carolina were all recognized for their internationalization efforts as recipients of Gold Level Awards. The Gold Level award recognizes institutions that have excelled in one dimension of internationalization.

APLU Names Ball State University 2018 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award Winner
In recognition of extraordinary community outreach, APLU named Ball State University the winner of the 2018 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award during a ceremony at the group’s annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

APLU Announces Class of 2018 Innovation & Economic Prosperity University Designees and Winners of 2018 Innovation & Economic Prosperity University Awards
APLU named four winners of its sixth annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University Awards and six new IEP University Designees. APLU’s IEP Universities designation program helps higher education institutions codify, elevate, and advance their enterprise supporting economic and community development while providing national recognition to institutions committed to university economic development. In order to earn the designation, institutions complete a rigorous self-study and stakeholder engagement process. They identify their economic development strengths and areas of growth and improvement.