2026 Roundtable for Provosts
Partner Event
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.
Expand each session below for information about meeting location, hotel accommodations, and reservations.
March 25-26, 2026 - Washington, D.C.
Meeting Location
EAB
2445 M Street NWÂ
Washington, D.C. 20037Â
202-747-1003Â
​Hotel Accommodations
The Westin Georgetown Washington, D.C.Â
2350 M Street NWÂ
Washington, D.C. 20037Â
202-429-0100Â
Reservations
$359/Room
Call 202-429-0100 and mention Provost Roundtable to access our preferred rate or book online
Please reserve by March 3, 2026
Please make your reservation at your earliest convenience, as space and rates are subject to availability. For alternative hotel information, contact us at [email protected].
April 29-30, 2026 - Washington, D.C. - R1
This session is reserved for R1 institutions.
Meeting Location
EAB
2445 M Street NWÂ
Washington, D.C. 20037Â
202-747-1003Â
​Hotel Accommodations
The Westin Georgetown Washington, D.C.Â
2350 M Street NWÂ
Washington, D.C. 20037Â
202-429-0100Â
Reservations
$389/Room
Call 202-429-0100 and mention Provost Roundtable to access our preferred rate or book online
Please reserve by April 7, 2026
Please make your reservation at your earliest convenience, as space and rates are subject to availability. For alternative hotel information, contact us at [email protected].
Agenda
Day One
Setting Your Priority for the Next Academic Year
12:00 p.m.
Guest Arrival and Registration
Lunch Provided
1:00 p.m.
Mapping Your Options in the Face of “Impossible” Choices
As institutions confront sustained resource constraints, many provosts feel boxed in by tradeoffs that appear to threaten core academic values. This session focuses on restoring strategic agency. You will assess your specific context—including the scale and urgency of financial pressure, presidential and board expectations, and your own tolerance for disruption—to clarify what level of change is both necessary and feasible.
Rather than cataloging risks, the emphasis will be on what you can realistically advance in the next academic year as provost.
Outcome: A personalized diagnostic clarifying the scope and type of change you are prepared to pursue over the coming year.
2:45 p.m.
Break
3:00 p.m.
Confronting Academic Resource Reallocation
Addressing financial constraints will be unavoidable in the coming year. While the major levers of academic cost management are familiar (course optimization, program prioritization, unit reorganization, and faculty workload policy), the harder question is determining which lever will generate meaningful benefit without undermining academic quality or institutional trust.
Drawing on two decades of EAB research and institutional experience, this session will surface where these approaches tend to succeed, where they falter, and the conditions that separate the two. Participants will also be introduced to EAB’s Portfolio Decision Engine as a structured way to evaluate tradeoffs.
Outcome: Selection of the academic resource strategy most likely to deliver results at your institution over the next year.
5:30 p.m.
Adjournment
6:00 p.m.
Dinner
Day Two
Implementing Your Priority in a Shared Governance Environment
8:00 a.m.
Breakfast
8:45 a.m.
Engaging Faculty in Making Difficult Decisions
Significant academic change requires faculty engagement, but engagement alone does not produce decisions. This session presents a structured, eight-step decision process that incorporates faculty input, rigorously evaluates alternatives, and culminates in a defensible outcome without requiring unanimity or risking paralysis.
The focus is on clarifying decision rights, sequencing involvement, and maintaining momentum in environments where governance norms can otherwise stall progress.
Outcome: A decision-process map aligned to your prioritized strategy, adapted to your institution’s culture and governance structures.
10:45 a.m.
Break
11:00 a.m.
Building a Success Plan for the Coming Year
Even well-designed decisions can falter amid leadership turnover, competing institutional priorities, and faculty fatigue. This session focuses on execution. Participants will map the steps required to move from decision to action and align those steps with available EAB Strategic Advisory Services—from stakeholder education and facilitation to tools, templates, and case studies.
Outcome: A detailed, year-long implementation plan for your priority, with clearly identified EAB support options at each stage.
12:00 p.m.
Adjournment