Conference Speakers

Keynote Speaker

José Antonio Bowen has been leading innovation and change for over 40 years at Stanford, Georgetown, and the University of Southampton (UK), then as a dean at Miami University and SMU and as president of a USN&WR most innovative college until 2019. He now runs Bowen Innovation Group L.L.C., and does innovation, pedagogy, and D&I consulting and training in both higher education and for Fortune 500 companies including AT&T, Chevron, Pfizer, Toyota, and Walmart.

As a scholar, Bowen holds four degrees from Stanford University (in Chemistry, Music, and Humanities), has written over 100 scholarly articles, was editor of the Cambridge Companion to Conducting (2003), and an editor of the 6-CD set, Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology (2011). He received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and in 2010, Stanford honored him as a Distinguished Alumni Scholar.

His books on teaching include Teaching Naked (2012) winner of the Ness Award for Best book on Higher Education; the sequel, Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Classes with G. Edward Watson (2017); Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers using Relationships, Resilience and Reflection (2021, Johns Hopkins University Press); and his most recent, Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning with C. Edward Watson (2024, Johns Hopkins University Press).

Before the conference, check out his previous videos to learn more. We look forward to his opening keynote address, Teaching and Thinking with A.I.

Closing Speaker

Flower Darby is an international speaker that celebrates and promotes effective teaching in all modalities to advance equitable learning outcomes for all students. She’s an Associate Director of the Teaching for Learning Center at the University of Missouri. Prior to that, she held roles such as Assistant Dean of Online and Innovative Pedagogies, Director of Teaching for Student Success, and Senior Instructional Designer. These roles have allowed her to build on her experience teaching in person and online for over 27 years in a range of subjects including English, Technology, Education, Leadership, Dance, and Pilates. In her current work and publications, Darby empowers faculty to teach inclusive and equity-focused classes in all modalities.

Her recent books include The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching (2023) and Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes (2019). Don’t miss out on her closing session, Small Teaching with AI: Motivating Ourselves and Our Students with Manageable Moves.