Fireside Dialogues 2010

The Forum will again offer two Fireside Dialogues in conjunction with its Annual Conference.  Both will be held on March 26-28, immediately after the Conference, and will be hosted by Davidson College, located 19 miles from downtown Charlotte.  Participants will stay in the charming town of Davidson and meet on the College’s campus.  Fireside Dialogues are limited to 20 participants and are led by experienced facilitators who create an open, collegial environment for sustained, frank dialogue on important education abroad topics, enhancing knowledge, understanding and skills. 

A new offering this year is a Fireside Dialogue called “Institutional Leadership for Education Abroad,” intended for Provosts and Deans seeking to develop and advance education abroad in broad and deep ways across their institutions.  Participants will generate this Dialogue’s topics, potentially to include staffing and financial models, managing relationships with provider organizations and international partners, and faculty incentives and curriculum development.  The limited size, residential setting and focus on dialogue and problem-solving makes this a distinctive gathering during which participants will develop strategies for their campuses and organizations.

Facilitators: Mary Dwyer, President, IES Abroad; Neil Weissman, Provost and Dean of the College, Dickinson College; Daniel Wubah, Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Education, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

The second Fireside Dialogue, “Mid-Career Professionals: Topics in Leadership,” has been offered successfully twice before. This Dialogue is ideal for mid-career colleagues who seek a rare opportunity to explore the nature of leadership with senior leaders in the field and with each other.  It focuses on the development of key skills essential to leadership both within organizations and within the field of education abroad as a whole. Discussion topics include strategic planning, university and organizational governance, personnel management, financial and resource management, and personal advocacy.

Facilitators: Shaik Ismail, Director of International Programs, Linfield College; Katharine Krebs, Vice Provost for International Affairs, Binghamton University; David Larson, Special Assistant to the President, Arcadia University

Application Process

Fireside Dialogue participants must submit an application for consideration.  Members of the Forum will be given priority placement in the Fireside Dialogues (FD).  Once accepted, FD participants will be invoiced for the participation fee and can contact one of the two locations noted below for overnight accomodations.   The participation fee includes dinner on Friday evening, continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and lunch on Saturday.

Click here for an application.  The deadline to submit applications has been extended to Friday, January 15, 2010.  Participants will be notified within two weeks of submitting applications.. 

Fireside Dialogue Participation Fees

Schedule at a Glance

Friday, March 26

7pm - Dinner in Davidson

Saturday, March 27

8:30am - 5pm - Fireside Dialogue

*FD participants have dinner on their own

Sunday, March 28

8:30am-12pm -  Fireside Dialogue

Participant Accomodations

The Forum has reserved rooms at three locations - the Davidson ViIlage Inn, Carnegie Guest House (Davdison College), and the Hilton Homewood Suites.   Both Carnegie Guest House and the Davidson Village Inn are within walking distance of the Davidson College campus where the Fireside Dialogues will take place.  The Homewood Suites are located just 1.4 miles from Davidson's campus.

**SPECIAL NOTE:  Participants of the Provosts and Deans Fireside Dialogue will stay at the Davidson Village Inn.  Participants of the Mid-Career Professionals Fireside Dialogue will stay at the Hilton Homewood Suites.

The Davidson Village Inn is an eighteen-room bed and breakfast across the street from the Davidson College campus.  Daily rates for the Davidson VilIlage Inn:

Queen room - $125 + tax

Twin room (with two twin beds) - $125 + tax

King room - $140 + tax

Executive Suite (With one queen bed plus extras) - $140 + tax

Family suite (with two queen beds plus extras) - $155 + tax

Davidson Village Inn phone #:  800-892-0796

The Hilton Homewood Suites is approximately 1.4 miles from Davidson College campus.  Transportation will be provided for FD participants to the Davidson campus.  Homewood Suites daily rate is $109 + tax for a one-bedroom king suite and $139 + tax for a one bedroom, two-double bed suite.

HIlton Homewood Suites phone #:  704-987-1818

Carnegie Guest House is located at the entrance of the Davidson College campus.  Daily rates for the guest house are $93.50 + tax for standard rooms and $105 + tax for large rooms.  Each of the eight guest rooms has a private bath.

All three locations provide continental breakfast.

Getting to Davidson

Davidson College is located 19 miles north of Charlotte, N.C., just off Interstate 77 at Exit 30.

Charlotte's Douglas International Airport, Greyhound and Trailways bus lines, and an Amtrak railway station are 30 minutes away via I-85 and I-77. Taxi service is available from the airport, train, and bus station.

Davidson is served by CATS (Charlotte Area Transit System), which includes routes throughout the Charlotte-Metro area. For information on Davidson routes, see the North Mecklenburg Village Rider. The complete Charlotte-Metro System Map highlighting all CATS routes is also available.