Add Joshua's Book to Your Registration
Add Capitalizing on College: How Higher Education Went from Mission Driven to Margin Obsessed to your registration for just $24.
Meet the voices shaping ideas, sparking conversations, and leaving lasting impact.
Anna Gonzalez, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Washington University in St. Louis
Opening Session
The Future of Student Affairs: Leading with Insight, Supporting with Purpose – In a time of complexity, challenge, and profound change in higher education, how can student affairs professionals lead with clarity, support student success in all its dimensions, and thrive in their own careers?
Join Anna “Dr. G” Gonzalez for an invigorating and forward-looking keynote that explores the evolving landscape of student affairs—and the vital role we play within it. Drawing from her experience as a practitioner, executive leader, and faculty member, Dr. G will share insights on cultivating leadership, supporting the next generation of student affairs professionals, and ensuring our work remains central to the college experience. From broadening hiring practices and integrating virtual flexibility, to fostering dialogue across difference and addressing the hollowing of the mid-level, Dr. G will highlight where institutional priorities are headed—and where opportunity lives for those willing to adapt and lead with intention.
This session will leave you energized, challenged, and inspired to reflect on what’s next for our field—and your place within it.
Learn More About Anna
Dr. Anna Gonzalez or “Dr. G” as she is known to students, is a nationally recognized student affairs leader with over 30 years of experience in higher education. As the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at WashU, Dr. Gonzalez’s primary focus is to provide leadership to the university’s renowned Division of Student Affairs, engage with students to recognize their needs and enhance their experiences, spearhead transformative giving opportunities with University Advancement, and implement innovative strategies to ensure WashU is a leader in providing a 21st century higher education experience. Within her diverse portfolio, Gonzalez oversees WashU’s Center for Career Engagement, health and well-being, Residential Life, the Center for Diversity & Inclusion, Athletics & Recreation, Campus Life, and Bear Beginnings — WashU’s orientation program for first-year students.
Dr. Gonzalez serves on several regional and national boards, including NASPA — Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education — where she is currently serving as the immediate past board chair. She has delivered national keynotes and is a published author. Her research interests are focused on higher education policy and governance, first-generation students, and higher education finance. Her scholarly publications include the book “Transformational Encounters: Shaping Diverse College and University Leaders.”
Gonzalez is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor’s degree in international business. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees, both in education, from Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Gonzalez enjoys traveling, getting to know the local food scene, gardening, and spending lots of time with her family and her dog — Yoshi.
Amanda R. Knerr, PhD
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Housing and Residence Life, Ball State University
Plenary Session
The ACUHO-I Standards & Competencies for Campus Housing Professionals – In 2021 an ACUHO-I Steering Committee was assembled to review the Association’s Standards and Competencies. This work — which spanned 4 years and a pandemic — included a deep dive into the existing ACUHO-I Standards and Competencies; the evaluation of peer association documents for content, frameworks, structure, and process; administration of a member survey to test assumptions and better understand utilization of these guiding documents; and integration with intersecting efforts, including ACUHO-I’s Future of the Profession Initiative.
In July 2025, the ACUHO-I Executive Board approved The ACUHO-I Standards & Competencies for Campus Housing Professionals. The 2025 Content Conferences will be the first opportunity for professionals to engage with these documents. On Tuesday, October 14 from 2:45 – 4 p.m. CT (US), each cohort (Business Operation; Housing Facilities; and Residence Education) will each participate in a plenary session facilitated by Dr. Amanda Knerr, on the Standards and Competencies within their area.
Learn More About Amanda
Amanda R. Knerr currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Housing and Residence Life at Ball State University. She has previously served as the Executive Director, Residential Life at Indiana State University and the Senior Associate Director for Residence Life at The Pennsylvania State University. Amanda Knerr received her bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University; her master’s degree from Ball State University; and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from The Pennsylvania State University. Amanda’s research interests include curriculum development and instructional pedagogy, engaged scholarship, social entrepreneurship, and the development of professional identity. Amanda has participated in a variety of ACPA and ACUHO-I leadership roles including being a Past-Chair of ACPA’s Commission for Assessment and Evaluation, invited faculty for the ACPA Student Affairs Assessment Institute and ACPA Institute on the Curricular Approach. For ACUHO-I she served as chair of Professional Standards Committee, chair of the task force for the revision of the Competencies and Standards, co-lead on the Future of the Profession Task Force, and as a faculty member for NHTI. Amanda further represented ACUHO-I as a content expert for the recent Housing and Residence Life CAS Review, on the Campus Housing and Residence Life Task Force, and the Campus Housing and Residential Life Assessment Development with the Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification.
Joshua Travis Brown, PhD
Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Education
General Session
Innovation Amid Crisis: Reimagining The Work that Matters Most – Are you navigating change in student affairs while trying to stay anchored to your mission? This thought-provoking keynote by Joshua Travis Brown explores how housing professionals can lead innovation during times of disruption. Drawing on behind-the-scenes stories and cutting-edge research from his new book Capitalizing on College, this program will introduce five principles of innovation to help higher education professionals navigate change, build resilient systems, and foster meaningful student connections. Participants will be challenged to rethink traditional structures, import fresh ideas, and become “value-entrepreneurs” who lead with purpose and adaptability. With a unique blend of macro insight and campus-level relevance, this talk offers practical takeaways, powerful metaphors, and a call to be the consistent, grounding force students need – especially in times of uncertainty.
Learn More About Joshua
Research Fellow, University of Oxford Author, Capitalizing on College: How Higher Education Went from Mission Driven to Margin ObsessedInnovation Amid Crisis: Reimagining The Work that Matters Most
Joshua Travis Brown is an author, professor, and researcher examining the intersection of public policy, finance, and higher education. An Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and SKOPE Fellow at the University of Oxford, his work explores how economic policies have reshaped tuition-driven colleges and universities. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, British Academy and ACUHO-I, and appeared in The Wall Street Journal, NPR, USA Today, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. A first-generation college graduate, Brown brings a unique perspective to his writing, uncovering the structural challenges facing institutions and the students they serve. He has over 25 years of experience in higher education at institutions that depend heavily on tuition revenue and is the author of Capitalizing on College: How Higher Education Went From Mission Driven to Margin Obsessed (Oxford University Press).
