2026 Roundtable for Provosts

Join EAB for our annual roundtable exclusively for provosts in Washington, D.C. This is your chance to participate in confidential, high-level discussions focused on the most pressing challenges your institution is facing today.

2025 attendees noted that convening with peers and EAB experts was time well spent:

• “I find these roundtables very valuable—there are not enough occasions for provosts to get together like this.”
• “This was my first provosts meeting with peers. The information was timely and valuable in thinking through solutions for my institution.”
• “This is a great chance for a mental break and reset.”
• “I always love coming to these roundtables—I learn something new every time.”

Event Details

Audience: Sessions are limited to provosts. Registration for each session is limited to one attendee per institution.

Please note: The April 29-30 session is reserved for R1 institutions.

For travel planning: The meeting will commence at 12:00 p.m. on the first day and adjourn at 12:00 p.m. on the second day. EAB will host a dinner for attendees following the first day of presentations. Further agenda details are forthcoming.

Expand each session below for information about meeting location, hotel accommodations, and reservations.

Agenda Highlights

Preparing Faculty to Participate in Difficult Academic Decisions

Faculty often feel under siege in today’s climate, making it harder for them to engage in productive discussions about changes to the status quo. This session will focus on how provosts can acknowledge faculty concerns, share essential context about the sector, and prepare faculty to participate in difficult conversations about the future of academic affairs. We’ll explore how to:

• Equip faculty with the knowledge and perspective to participate constructively in decision-making
• Address common “counter-narratives” that minimize the urgency for academic change
• Structure conversations that acknowledge fears while still moving toward solutions

Prioritizing Viable Approaches to Academic Resource Reallocation

Every institution is facing pressure to deploy academic resources more effectively—but no single strategy offers a silver bullet. This session will draw on dozens of case studies to help leaders sort through competing options and focus on those best suited to their context. We’ll cover how to:

• Compare the potential impact, costs, and risks of options such as program review, academic reorganization, workload policy changes, and curricular redesign
• Learn from the successes and missteps of peer institutions pursuing resource reallocation
• Apply a rubric to determine which approaches align best with your institution, and estimate the likely timing, savings, and fallout from different strategies before committing

Building an Engaged Decision-Making Process

Even when the right path forward is clear, getting faculty and other stakeholders on board is another challenge. This session will highlight approaches to inclusive, credible, and action-oriented decision-making that honor shared governance while avoiding stalemates. Together, we’ll discuss how to:

• Design a structured decision process that engages all critical stakeholders and can be applied to a wide range of critical strategic questions
• Surface and address concerns early to build trust and legitimacy
• Develop a concrete decision timeline that ends with commitment to action (if not full consensus)