Conference News

March 18

Housekeeping Notes

The Vitalism Conference will be taking place during a week where there are a number of different events at Life University. We are hosting National Rugby playoff games, and expect approximately 1,000 attendees for this event.

We have several events focusing on student recruitment, training, and alumni development.

We are doing some extensive planning for this to ensure coordination is effective. Rugby attendees will be directed to off-campus parking and brought in by shuttle. Vitalism Conference attendees will have reserved parking on a part of the campus that is a short walking distance away.

Our reception Friday night will actually be two events. The first event will be a short time where our faculty will move to a room right off the conference floor, meet Dr. Riekeman (our president) and some members of the Atlanta community, Life's Board of Trustees, and other invited guests. Then that group will join the main reception taking place. To close out the reception we'll ask each of you to offer a brief answer to a question about the day; I'll provide you with the question(s) ahead of time so you'll have some preparation.

Our attendance will be modest. We are expecting something in the order of 175-250 attendees, which will make this a nice opportunity to have a more relaxed kind of conversation than would otherwise be possible in a larger setting. We have purposefully chosen to not promote this widely, seeking instead to use this experience to create a platform for further conversations. We would rather do this 'right' than 'large.'

After Saturday morning's events, the conference will officially close. We'll take our lunch at the conference, then retire to the hotel. Most of you will be able to stay the rest of Saturday afternoon, and for part or all of that time we'll relax and consider what we've covered in the prior day and a half. We'll take as much--or as little--of Saturday afternoon to wrap things up and consider 'next steps.'

Our interest in a work product is high, and our commitment to allowing the group to determine what that product is remains strong. It might be that an orthodox set of proceedings is created; it might be that we develop the materials and submit them for publication. Other options are certainly available. One of the interests I have that I'd like to explore with our group is what each of you senses are some of the needs, hunger, and interests for information about this in your own professions--and how best we can get it to your peers.

During the conference, we'll be working in a setting where you will be speaking on a low stage with a rear-projection screen on either side. One screen will be for your presentations, if you have PPT. The other will be for attendees to use their wireless access to post comments and questions to a chat that I'll be moderating, and relaying appropriate posts. Should you like, you'll be able to see them on the screen or a separate monitor, and incorporate them into any flow of your talk(s) that you like. Or not!

Travel is arranged for nearly all of you. I will ensure we have someone to pick you up at the appointed times and to return you to the airport with plenty of time to catch your outbound flights. The Atlanta airport, for those of you who will be coming here for the first time, has six separate terminal destinations (T, A, B, C, D, and E). There is a tram that runs underground and brings you to the baggage claim area. There is a long escalator that runs you up to the baggage area, and at the top of the escalator is an area where people can be met. That's where I will be, or a Life University Representative with a clearly marked sign with your name(s) on it, to assure that we find each other.