The Student Experience: Reimagined
Michael Sorrell
President Sorrell is one of the most decorated college presidents in America. Recently, President George W. Bush and the George W. Bush Presidential Center awarded him the Bush Institute Trailblazer Citation. He has been named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine; is the only three time recipient of the HBCU Male President of the Year Award (2018, 2016 and 2012); won Higher Education’s President of the Year award as named by Education Dive; and Time Magazine listed him as one of the “31 People Changing the South.” Washington Monthly Magazine identified him as one of America’s 10 Most Innovative College Presidents and Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and PUSH/Excel honored him with its Education Leadership Award. Michael is the recipient of both the Dallas Bar Association’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award and the City of Dallas’ Father of the Year Award. In addition to being a member of the “Root 100” (a list of the top 100 emerging leaders in America) by the Root Online Magazine, Michael has received: the Distinguished Alumni Award from Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, and St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Illinois; the A. Kenneth Pye Award for Excellence in Education from Duke University’s School of Law Alumni Association; the Social Innovator Award from Babson College; the Vision Award, Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Middlebury College; Luminary Award from SMU; and the TRACS Leadership Award. The Dallas Historical Society honored Michael for Excellence in Educational Administration. He is a past recipient of the Dallas Urban League’s Torch for Community Leadership and both the President’s and C.B. Bunkley Awards from J.L. Turner for his outstanding contributions to the Dallas legal community. Michael also has an honorary degree from Austin College.
Dr. Jeff Borden
Dr. Borden is the former vice president of academic affairs at D2L, a Professor of Communication and Education, a Davis Scholar in Residence awarded by the Akilah Institute, and a speaker / consultant / leader across higher education. As a former Chief Innovation Officer, Academic Research Director (“Think Tank”), and lifelong advocate for effective eLearning, Jeff has spoken to educators at every level, from professors to politicians to presidents to principals, in 38 countries and 49 of 50 U.S. states. A passionate teaching and learning expert, Dr. Borden is generating and communicating the best possible ideas, strategies, and philosophies to transform learning at scale. Through award winning “learning ecosystem” creation, brain-based education strategies, large scale alternate reality games for education, and other creative endeavors, Dr. Borden has implemented effective learning techniques for thousands. Having written academic anthology chapters, academic journal articles, editorials, blogs, and given interviews for dozens of academic and popular media, as well as having presented to more than 5,000 audiences in 20 years, Dr. Borden will provide practical, researched, intentional strategies for changing learning.
John Baker
John founded D2L in 1999, at the age of twenty-two, while attending the University of Waterloo. He strongly believes that learning is the foundation upon which all progress and achievement rests. He is a member of the Business Council of Canada, board member of the Business Higher Education Roundtable, member of the Industry Strategy Council in Canada, Chair of the Digital Economic Strategy Table in Canada, has served on the Governing Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, is the Past Chair of the board of Communitech, and is a board member of Canada’s National Ballet School. John was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Ontario for Software and Technology), Young Alumni Achievement Medal from University of Waterloo, and Intrepid Entrepreneur of the Year in Waterloo Region Hall of Fame. John graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours B.A.Sc. in Systems Design Engineering, with First Class Honours and an option in Management Sciences.
