Speakers

Our speakers combine experience in student wellness, resilience, and housing to provide practical strategies for supporting residential communities through change. Check back for updates on this year’s speaker lineup.

Opening Keynote

LaMarcus D. Howard, PhD
North Carolina Central University (NCCU)

Beyond the Beds: Reimagining Housing as the Front Door to Student Access and Success
Today’s college students represent a broader range of backgrounds, lived experience, and expectation than any generation before them. They arrive on campus carrying more than oversized flat-screen TVs and room décor. They bring intersecting identities, mental health realities, financial pressures, and a deep desire to be seen, supported, and included. What they ask for may sound like amenities, autonomy, and convenience. What they need to thrive is belonging, connection, and community.

This engaging keynote centers the lived experiences of today’s college students and examines how residence life can truly meet them where they are. Together, we will unpack how residence life can become a strategic lever for institutional success, driving student engagement, persistence, and holistic well‑being.

Learn More about Dr. Howard

LaMarcus D. Howard, Ph.D., serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), where he directs the Student Health and Wellness portfolio encompassing the Student Health Center, Counseling Center, Student Accessibility Services, and Student Recreation and Wellness. Dr. Howard advances a coordinated approach to student well-being that integrates health, mental health, accessibility, and recreation to support academic success, persistence, and inclusive campus climate.

A recognized scholar-practitioner, Dr. Howard has authored research on student access, persistence, and success. He presents widely at national and international conferences, offering actionable insights at the intersection of student wellness, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness in higher education. His leadership is grounded in equity and access, operational excellence, and cross-functional collaboration.

Dr. Howard earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (Higher Education Administration) from Eastern Michigan University, and he holds a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Central Michigan University. Originally from Flint, Michigan, he brings an authentic, values-driven perspective to institutional strategy and culture-building. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, attending concerts and professional sporting events, working out, shopping, spending time with family and friends, and playing softball in the spring and fall.

Closing Speaker

A woman with long brown hair, wearing glasses, a black patterned blouse, and a necklace, is standing outdoors with greenery and a brick building in the blurred background.

Janice McCabe, PhD
Dartmouth College &
Sociology of Education Association (SEA)

Making Friends On College Campuses: The Role Of Friendship Markets And Network Types
How do students make friends in college? Based on interviews with students at three institutions, sociologist Janice McCabe analyzes how residence halls and other features on college campuses provide access to or limit student friendships. This talk discusses how students’ experiences of loneliness and their friendships are shaped by the strength of initial and secondary friendship markets as well as by their friendship network type.

Learn More About Dr. Janice

Dr. Janice McCabe is an associate professor of sociology and the Allen House Professor at Dartmouth College. She teaches courses on the sociology of education, youth, gender, social problems, and research methods at Dartmouth. Dr. McCabe is the President of the Sociology of Education Association (SEA). Her books, Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends: How Campuses Shape College Students Networks (University of Chicago Press, 2025) and Connecting in College: How Friendship Networks Matter for Academic and Social Success (University of Chicago Press, 2016), focus on friendship networks and identities during college and into young adulthood. She is interested in how gender, race/ethnicity, and social class operate as social identities and how they shape social networks.Her research has been covered, among other places, in the Washington Post, Time magazine, NPR, The New York Times, and the Boston Globe.