Tuesday, February 10, 2026
2:00 – 3:30 pm ET

Practical, Research-Driven Strategies to Shift the Focus from Survival to Flourishing

Institutions are facing a pervasive challenge of isolation, loneliness, and mindset fatigue among both students and student affairs professionals. These are not just personal struggles—they are institutional concerns that affect the well-being, engagement, and long-term success of individuals and campus communities. While national statistics illustrate the urgency of the problem, many campuses are still searching for sustainable, everyday practices that meaningfully address it.

Feelings of burnout, discouragement, and disconnection from the very work that once brought staff and student affairs professionals joy and purpose are abundant. The emotional weight of these experiences includes fatigue, frustration, isolation, and sometimes even hopelessness. When both students and staff are caught in a cycle of doing more with less, it becomes harder to imagine a way forward that feels sustainable or fulfilling.

Join us on February 10, 2026 when our expert presenter will explore how to foster a culture of abundance – one that values gratitude, generosity, and authentic relationships as central to student success and employee wellbeing – instead of a scarcity mindset leaving people feeling like they are always behind or never quite enough.

It's not about adding more to your to-do lists, it's about shifting how you show up in the work you’re already doing. Shift the focus from survival to flourishing, and begin to repair the deep disconnects that are keeping so many people from thriving. 

Topics Covered

Gain crucial, actionable takeaways that will help you: 

• Address the rising challenges of isolation, loneliness, and mindset fatigue by moving beyond reactive support models toward proactive, relational strategies that cultivate well-being and connection.
• Reframe the campus culture through a lens of abundance, drawing from insights from qualitative data that reveal consistent patterns and pathways that lead to disconnection and depletion verses feelings of engagement and value.
• Gain practical, proven strategies for leadership and professional development that can have a real impact on supporting human flourishing – reduce disconnection for yourself, your team and your students.
• Explore practical tools you can begin utilizing right away to reframe scarcity thinking and cultivate more grounded, forward-moving perspectives rooted in purpose, gratitude, and growth.
• Build connections within your teams with ready-to-use tools that can help build trust, reduce stress, and deepen belonging in one-on-one conversation, staff meetings, and student-facing programs. 
  

Presenter

Dr. Ali G. Threet is a higher education leader, researcher, and speaker committed to helping individuals and institutions move beyond burnout and disconnection toward purpose, belonging, and joy. She currently serves as the Interim Vice President for Student Access and Success and Dean of Students at Weber State University, with over two decades of experience in both secondary and postsecondary education.
Click here for full bio.