The Women Advance IT leadership conference, which focuses on women advancing the future of information technology in higher education, will be held Oct. 18-19 at Nebraska Innovation Campus. It is open to the public and faculty, staff and students are invited to take part in the conference.
Registration for the day-and-a-half conference is $125, with a special $25 rate for University of
Nebraska students. Advanced registration is required. Registration includes continental breakfasts, lunches as well as an exclusive evening social/screening/discussion of the documentary "Code: Debugging the Gender Gap" at the Mary Riepma Ross Arts Center.
Women Advance IT, presented by Information Technology Services at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Online Worldwide, will feature four keynotes with more than 25 additional presentations highlighting leadership, women in IT, diversity and emerging technology:
*On leadership: New York Times best-selling author Liza Mundy will discuss her new book, “Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II."
*On women in IT: "Getting Beyond the Numbers" is a panel discussion examining culture change featuring Ana Hunsinger, vice president of community engagement, Internet2; John O'Brien, president and CEO of EDUCAUSE; and Brad McLain, social scientist for the National Center for Women in InformationTechnology.
*On diversity: Lawrence Chatters, diversity and inclusion coordinator for Nebraska Athletics, will deliver the keynote "Diversity Wins."
*On emerging tech: "Meeting the Challenges and Opportunities of Cybersecurity" features a panel of information security professionals from government, corporate and higher ed, including Kristi K. Johnson, assistant special agent in charge, FBI-Omaha Field Office; James Kastle, vice president of information technology and chief information security officer, ConAgra Foods; and Rick Haugerud, assistant vice president and chief information security officer, University of Nebraska.
There is a growing focus in the news on women and diversity in the technical and scientific fields. From the controversy surrounding the Google "manifesto," to the work environment at Uber, to the recent decline of women choosing careers in information technology, this conference seeks to reaffirm and provide useful tools and dialogue for all.
Women Advance IT is underwritten through the support of corporate sponsors including Inkcloud, Connection.com and Nelnet/Vosiac.
For more information and registration, go to http://go.unl.edu/conference.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/conference