Reimagining Engagement: Trust, Trauma-Informed Practice, & Systemic Change - Part 2
Event Details
[This is the second date in a two-part virtual series. Your registration covers both dates of training.]
The Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) is pleased to offer a two-part virtual series entitled, “Reimagining Engagement: Trust, Trauma-Informed Practice, and Systemic Change,” presented this fall by Michael B. Key, assistant director of Retention Services at Clark State College.
Despite the presence of strong programs and support systems, many students—and employees—still struggle to thrive in higher education environments. This series explores how trauma-informed, human-centered approaches can help reimagine engagement and belonging through personal leadership, reflective practice, and systemic change.
Part 1 – Systems Start with Self: Designing Belonging from the Inside Out
Friday, Oct. 24 | 10-11:30 a.m. ET via Zoom
Despite the presence of well-designed programs and support services, many students still struggle to thrive – often due to misaligned structures or outdated norms that subtly shape how they engage and whether they feel they belong. This session introduces a trauma-informed, systems-aware lens for rethinking educational practices across roles and departments, drawing from public health guidance, Universal Design for Learning, and human-centered planning. Participants will use real-world examples and guided reflection to examine how personal leadership – grounded in self-awareness, humility, and intentional practice – can help identify hidden barriers, interrupt unexamined habits, and co-create environments where both students and employees can truly thrive. For faculty, this session offers insight into how prior learning experiences and unspoken institutional expectations can impact classroom dynamics and student trust. For staff and administrators, it highlights how self-reflection and role-based decision-making shape system culture and access – making personal development essential to sustainable institutional change.
Part 2 – Leading with Trust: Practices that Encourage Belonging and Engagement
Friday, Nov. 14 | 10-11:30 a.m. ET via Zoom
Even in well-designed courses and welcoming work environments, students and employees may still struggle to focus, participate, or persist. These challenges are often less about individual readiness and more about the environment — specifically how it communicates safety, relevance, and connection. This session invites you to explore how small, intentional choices in environmental design and daily interaction can meaningfully enhance engagement, motivation, and follow-through. Grounded in trauma-informed and human-centered principles, participants will engage with real-world scenarios and guided reflection to examine how predictability, flexibility, and feedback loops can support learning and belonging without lowering expectations. For faculty, this session offers practical strategies to align instructional habits with relational trust and student readiness — especially for those navigating invisible barriers. For staff, it reinforces the shared responsibility for shaping academic environments by modeling how everyday practices influence persistence both inside and beyond the classroom.
The registration fee for this series covers both sessions, as well as a guide for participants to preview prior to the first meeting.
Register before Sunday, Oct. 19, and take the first step toward building a culture of belonging and sustained engagement on your campus. Click here to register now.
[If you are unable to attend live sessions, recording links will be sent to all registrants.]
When:
Part 1 – Friday, Oct. 24, from 10-11:30 a.m. ET
Part 2 – Friday, Nov. 14, from 10-11:30 a.m. ET
[if you are unable to attend live sessions, recording links will be sent to all registrants]
Where: SOCHE Zoom platform (link sent at least 24 hours prior to event)
Cost:
- Personnel from SOCHE member schools: $10 (covers both sessions)
- Personnel from NON-member schools/organizations: $20 (covers both sessions)
- Students: FREE
Questions? Contact Mindy Claggett at SOCHE
Student Registration Fee Policy
Registration Cancellation Policy
REGISTRATION FOR THIS 2-PART SERIES WILL CLOSE ON SUNDAY, OCT. 19.
About the Presenter
Michael B. Key
Assistant Director, Retention Services
Clark State College
Michael B. Key is an educator, systems thinker, and student success strategist with over a decade of experience in higher education leadership. He specializes in designing human-centered processes that foster persistence, engagement, and belonging across academic and student affairs. His primary job responsibilities over the past decade have been to increase student engagement and retention, but specifically for students in academic distress who are often deemed unmotivated by system standards. Michael’s journey reflects a core belief: professional development cannot succeed without personal development. Through self-reflection, adaptive leadership, transparent communication, and flexible systems design, he continues to grow as a co-learner and leader alongside students, employees, and peers.
