CUPA-HR on the Cooper

Conference Schedule

This year's conference will examine how Human Resources teams across higher education can steady the ship, navigate uncharted waters, and accomplish great things! Explore our schedule below.

Sunday, March 15

3:30 - 5 p.m. | Registration
5 - 6:30 p.m. | Welcome Reception

Monday, March 16

6 - 9 a.m. | Breakfast
9 - 10 a.m. | Registration and Visit with Sponsors
10 - 10:30 a.m. | SC CUPA-HR Welcome!

Brigadier General Sally Selden, Ph.D, SPHR
Provost and Dean of the College, The Citadel 

10:30 - 10:55 a.m. | Welcome/Annual Meeting
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. | General Session/Keynote Address

Culture in Every Conversation: How HR Shapes the Experience through Everyday Interactions - Ale Kennedy, Ph.D, Chair-Elect, CUPA-HR National Board

12:15 -1:30 p.m. | Lunch
1:30 - 2:45 p.m. | Breakout Sessions

• Learn the Language of AI: From Good to Great Prompts. - Roberta Maldonado Franzen, Duke University
  • Human resources professionals seek guidance on how to leverage AI in ways that align with strengthening individual growth and enhancing organizational outcomes. This session will focus on how to leverage AI in a modern workplace across HR functions. We will explore the critical role of prompts in effectively utilizing AI tools and provide practical activities for easy implementation.
• Stranger Things in HR: Navigating the Upside-Down to Shape the Employee Experience. Segal - Platinum Corporate Sponsor
  • Higher education human resources teams face unprecedented pressures: shifting workforce expectations, intensifying competition for talent, financial pressures, and the need to redefine the employee value proposition. This panel will explore actionable strategies for institutions navigating these disruptions, drawing on real-world experiences and data insights.
• Navigating the Immigration Tides. - Jon Eggert and Melissa Kelly - Burr Forman 
• Are You Ready? Discussion around Secure 2.0 and the impact to your supplemental retirement plans. - Austin Morris, TIAA, offered twice due to spacing. 
  • This breakout session will highlight the mandatory and optional provisions of the SECURE 2.0 legislation and what these changes mean for attendees' supplemental retirement plans at their institutions. The sessions will cover compliance with mandatory rules on catch-up contributions and how these requirements affect higher-income earners and campus executives. It will also address additional optional provisions that institutions may consider implementing in connection with Provision 603. 

2:45 - 3:15 p.m. | Break
3:15 - 4:30 p.m. | Birds of a Feather

There is no better way to learn than from your peers! Birds of a Feather sessions allow conference attendees to present in an informal, conversational setting, followed by opportunities for conversation and collaboration. Attendees will rotate between several different topics.

• CUPA-HR Onboarding and Benefits: Maximizing Your Membership - Roberta Maldonado Franzen, Duke University
  • This session introduces the essentials of CUPA-HR membership and highlights the resources and benefits available to members. Participants will learn how to leverage these tools to build professional networks, expand leadership skills, and create inclusive workplace communities. The session concludes with practical tips for getting the most out of your membership.
• Creating Onboarding Resources for Supervisors - Melantha Ardrey, The Citadel
  • Participants will learn about The Citadel’s supervisor toolkit – a resource that supports consistency, accountability, and engagement across key stages, including interviewing, onboarding, professional development, and offboarding. We created this resource to offer consistency across the institution for the employee experience, and something that supervisors could come back to whenever they needed to reference it. The session will highlight how intentional processes not only improve employee success and retention, but also strengthen institutional culture.
• Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Experience: Supporting Working Parents Beyond Compliance - Mallory Mitcham, Clemson University
  • The most important HR question is not “Do we have a policy?” but “Do employees feel confident using it?” Many higher education institutions have lactation and parental support policies in place, yet employees returning from leave often still feel overwhelmed navigating the realities of caregiving and work integration. This session explores the gap between policy and lived experience and how HR strategy, communication, and community support can transform employee confidence, retention, and wellbeing. Using lactation support and Clemson University’s Parenthood That Works initiative as a case study, participants will gain practical strategies to improve how policies are experienced, not just how they are written. Attendees will also explore how this framework applies more broadly across HR programs, including leave, flexibility, and employee well-being. This conversation invites HR professionals to rethink how policies are experienced, not just how they are written.
• Creating an Emeriti Staff Policy - Suzie Therrell, Winthrop University
  • This presentation examines the development and implementation of an Emeriti Staff Policy designed to formally recognize the long-term contributions of retired professional staff in higher education. While emeritus status is well established for faculty, comparable recognition for staff remains inconsistent or absent across many institutions. Drawing on institutional need, peer benchmarking, and shared governance processes, this session outlines the rationale, policy framework, and approval pathway used to establish emeriti staff status at a public university. Attendees will explore key policy components, including eligibility criteria, nomination procedures, and associated privileges. The session concludes with lessons learned and practical guidance for institutions interested in adopting or adapting a similar policy.
• Behind the Scenes of Benefits Leadership: Committees, Collaboration, and Engagement Done Right - Kristin Austin, Furman University
  • In the world of employee benefits, the only constant is change. This session will offer participants a behind-the-scenes look at leadership strategies and campus engagement efforts designed to reduce confusion, foster collaboration, and strengthen understanding within an evolving benefits landscape.  We will explore innovative partnerships with benefit plan providers and local health systems aimed at addressing the rising cost of healthcare, impacting higher education institutions nationwide.  Attendees will gain insight into practical approaches and benefit offerings that empower campus leaders, faculty, and staff to better understand, appreciate, and maximize the value of the total rewards package.
• Beyond the Paycheck: Why Your Compensation Philosophy Matters - Sydney Waugh, Clemson University
  • Compensation encompasses more than a general salary structure; more comprehensively, it is a reflection of institutional values, priorities, and overall organizational strategy. This session will explore how a clearly defined compensation philosophy provides the foundation for consistent, transparent, and equitable pay practices in higher education. Attendees will examine how compensation philosophy can guide decision-making conversations surrounding market competitiveness, internal alignment, employee communication, and talent attraction/retention.

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Happy Hour Reception Sponsored by Deloitte and WorkDay

Location: Saltwater Cowboys, Gazebo area overlooking Shem Creek. Alternate location at Satlwater Cowboys will be shared with attendees in the event of inclement weather. Transportation options and additional information will be shared at the conference.

Address: 130 Mill St, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464

Tuesday, March 17

6 - 8:45 a.m. | Breakfast

9:00 a.m. | Picture/College Day/Special Welcome

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Legal Update

Employment & Labor Law – Key Updates for Higher Ed, Provided by Shelia Abron FisherPhillips, Platinum Corporate Sponsor

Employment and labor law are always evolving. We will explore recent developments, practical tips, and compliance insights that will help higher ed administrators and HR professionals tackle workplace issues with clarity and confidence.

10:30 - 10:45 a.m. | Break

10:45 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Breakout Sessions

• Beyond the Hype: Practical Impacts of AI on Work, Workforce, and Workplace. - Deloitte - Platinum Corporate Sponsor
  • “Beyond the Hype: Practical Impacts of AI on Work, Workforce, and Workplace” is a Deloitte-facilitated session that will replace AI buzzwords with momentum, showing how the next wave of AI is already evolving how work gets done and what it means for HR. We’ll spotlight the shift to agentic AI, what it unlocks across HR, and its implications for HR’s role. Expect practical HR use cases and takeaways you can apply to accelerate adoption, manage risk, and deliver measurable outcomes.​
• Charting a Unified Course: Integrating Title IX, Title VI, and Employment Models into a Single Investigative Framework. - Daniela Harris, JD, SPHR, Director of Civil Rights Compliance at the Medical University of South Carolina
  • In an era of heightened federal oversight, higher education HR professionals are increasingly tasked with navigating complaints that trigger multiple, often conflicting, civil rights statutes. This session moves beyond the siloed approach to investigate the complex overlap between Title VII, Title IX (sex-based discrimination), and Title VI (race, color, and national origin). We will analyze how to build a dual-track investigation model that satisfies the current Title IX regulations while remaining responsive to recent Title VI enforcement trends. Participants will explore a practical architecture for identifying jurisdictional triggers and ensuring every investigation is fair, neutral, and legally defensible. By the end of this session, attendees will have a blueprint for a unified compliance model that protects both the institution and the individual.
• Are You Ready? Discussion around Secure 2.0 and the impact to your supplemental retirement plans. - Austin Morris, TIAA, offered twice due to spacing. 
  • This breakout session will highlight the mandatory and optional provisions of the SECURE 2.0 legislation and what these changes mean for attendees' supplemental retirement plans at their institutions. The sessions will cover compliance with mandatory rules on catch-up contributions and how these requirements affect higher-income earners and campus executives. It will also address additional optional provisions that institutions may consider implementing in connection with Provision 603. 
• Proactive Resilience and Responding with Resilience in Times of Crisis. - Laura Bryan, Ph.D., LMFT, CEAP, MYgroup
  • Preparing for and responding to a crisis are equally important as well as relevant in a campus environment. This session will go over potential crises and how to prepare for what might occur, as well as recognize common reactions to crises. You'll be equipped with tangible strategies to recover from a crisis as well as lead fellow school staff towards resilience after a crisis occurs.