Reception: Friday, April 5, 2023
Conference: Saturday, April 6, 2023 

Download Schedule-at-a-Glance 

Download Conference Poster 

Download Campus Map 

Conference Chair

Monica Widdig widdigm@ucmail.uc.edu

Conference Location

University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College
9555 Plainfield Road
Blue Ash, Ohio 45236

Keynote Speaker

John T. McNay, PhD
Professor of History
University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash

Bread and Roses: An Academic Tale
Regarding the work that we all do, John McNay will review the political and academic environment as it has developed in Ohio over the last couple of years. He will examine the several controversies over attempts to control what we can teach, how we can teach, and what tools we can use. He will discuss threats and successes regarding academic freedom and shared governance. And he will suggest strategies to ensure our ability to continue to do the vital work of quality education in Ohio.

John T. McNay, PhD, is a specialist in the history of American Foreign Relations and a professor of history at the University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College. His special focus is the Cold War. Professor McNay has published books on the period and received a research fellowship at the Nobel Peace Institute in Oslo, Norway in 2016. But most AURCO members will know him from his work with the AAUP. He was president of the UC AAUP union chapter in 2010–2012 and served as president of the AAUP’s Ohio Conference for eight years until 2020. In 2015, the national AAUP gave him the Al Sumberg Award for work defending academic freedom and governance in Ohio. He has also received awards for service from UCBA and UC’s Faculty Senate. He was recently elected to the AAUP’s national council. A Montana native, McNay has taught at UCBA for 22 years. 

Reception & Ignite Talks: Friday, April 5, 2024
Conference: Saturday, April 6, 2024 

Download Conference Poster 

Conference Chair

Caryn E. Neumann, PhD
neumance@miamioh.edu

Conference Location

Miami University Middletown
4200 N University Blvd
Middletown, OH 45042

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Helane Adams Androne
Languages, Literatures, and Writing
Miami University Middletown

Dr. Helane Adams Androne is a Professor in the Languages, Literatures, and Writing Department at Miami University Middletown, where she teaches ethnic American literatures and speculative fiction. In her 21 years in academia, she has chaired a department and co-directed the Ohio Writing Project's graduate program (twice now) for K-12 teachers. She has also published articles in a number of journals, including Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture; MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States; The Journal of Pan-African Studies; and, The Journal of Communication and Religion.

She has successfully single/co-authored almost $200K in external and internal grants, has presented for more than 70 conferences, workshops, and lectures (including for the Smithsonian), and has 2 books and more than 15 other academic and artistic publications. Helane's current research focus is on the emergence, use, and validation of the sacred. She's been working on a book that examines myths and magic as the sacred in texts by Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, and Nnedi Okorafor. She's fascinated by how black women authors use the sacred as an activist methodology for community and belonging, expanding love relationships, and for the survival of trauma.

Dr. Helane also has part-time gigs as a writer, actor/VO Artist, and entrepreneur, but her craziest gig to date is being a wife and mom in a loud, ridiculously snarky family.