Keynotes

Alexander Colvin

Alexander Colvin, the Kenneth F. Kahn Dean and Martin F. Scheinman Professor of Conflict Resolution at the ILR School, will be a keynote speaker. 

Dean Colvin’s research and teaching focuses on employment dispute resolution, with a particular emphasis on procedures in nonunion workplaces and the impact of the legal environment on organizations. His current research projects include empirical investigations of employment arbitration and cross-national studies of dispute resolution. He has published articles in journals such as ILR Review, Industrial Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Relations Industrielles, Academy of Management Journal, Personnel Psychology, the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, and the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. 

He is the co-author of An Introduction to U.S. Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations, Labor Relations in a Globalizing World, The Oxford Handbook of Conflict Management in Organizations, and Arbitration Law. He is an academic fellow of the Labor and Employment Relations Association.

Elizabeth Mannix

Elizabeth (Beta) Mannix, the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, will be a keynote speaker. 

With research and teaching focused on the factors that make individuals motivated, high-performing leaders and team members, Professor Mannix is an ideal fit for the theme of this Emerging Tech Dialogue, “The Future of Work: People, Process, and Technology.” Her work concentrates on principled leadership, creating environments of belonging and inclusion, leading high performance teams, and leading sustainable organizational change.  

Professor Mannix’s research has been published extensively in top psychology and management journals. She is the author of the 15-volume book series, Research on Managing Groups and Teams. Her work has been recognized by awards from the Academy of Management, Small Group Research, and the International Association for Conflict Management. Mannix served as the associate dean for Executive MBA programs at Cornell University.  She also directed the Institute for the Social Sciences, established to promote interdisciplinary research and to increase the university's prominence in the social sciences. Mannix is the recipient of Johnson's EMBA Globe teaching award, as well as the Faculty Research Award. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Society, the Society for Organizational Behavior, and The Academy of Management.  

Breakout and poster sessions

See the full schedule.

Kathy Burkgren, AVP for Organizational Development and Effectiveness, reviewed how we can be thoughtful stewards of Cornell’s legacy of leadership in continuous advancement, even as we navigate higher ed’s evolving landscape. The interactive session helped attendees understand normal responses to the changes we’re experiencing and learn about a tool that can help prioritize work to achieve the greatest impact and efficiency.

Shamsi Brinn, User Experience Designer for arXiv at Cornell Tech, traced the tangible financial, performance, safety, and cognitive benefits of high‑quality collaboration, linking day‑to‑day teamwork with the goals we care about.

Also on the program:

• Responsible and effective AI.         
• Strategies for data‑driven, human‑centered decision-making and insights that lead to better outcomes, not just more charts.
• Student success and advising systems.
• IT governance, beyond process mechanics, covering how we align resources with our most important needs.
• Standards, integration patterns, and change management that underpins durable progress from pilots to sustainable operations.
• Culture, capability, and the human side of change.