Planning for Disruptions: Responding to Demonstrations at Graduation
Includes a Live Web Event on 04/09/2025 at 1:30 PM (EDT)
Institutions of higher education across the globe faced challenging decisions around their preparation and response to demonstrations and campus disruption during the 2023-2024 academic year. Many schools saw graduation ceremonies interrupted or canceled. Join us for an interactive session in which presenters will discuss the changing environment of free expression on college campuses and what the University of Texas at Austin, a large, public university, did to ensure safe graduation ceremonies.
Learning Outcomes
1. Explain the legal context for public universities regarding free speech and disruption
2. List examples of foundational decision criteria for balancing speech and safety
3. Describe the strategies that UT Austin implemented to manage 31 commencement ceremonies to ensure a safe and smooth graduation process
Aaron Voyles
Executive Director of Student Involvement
The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Aaron Voyles serves as the Executive Director for Student Involvement in the Office of the Dean of Students at the University of Texas at Austin. He oversees a portfolio that includes leadership, student organizations, sorority and fraternity life, risk reduction, and service-learning. During the 2023-2024 academic year, he oversaw the demonstration response team for the university. Additionally, Dr. Voyles is an Assistant Professor of Practice, teaching in the graduate programs at UT Austin and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Kelly Soucy
Executive Director of Student Support
The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Kelly Soucy serves as the Executive Director for Student Support in the Office of the Dean of Students at the University of Texas at Austin. She provides leadership and strategic direction to the department as well as areas that consist of behavior intervention, non-clinical case management, legal services, food pantry and career closet, and veteran/military services. Kelly received her Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership and focused her research on mitigating secondary trauma in student affairs.
Continuing Education Credits
This session counts for 1.0 CSAEd-CORE credit
NASPA has been approved by the Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification to provide CE credit for Certified Student Affairs Educators (CSAEd). NASPA is solely responsible for all aspects of this program.
Guidelines for earning CE credit:
No partial credit will be rewarded.
Participants must also complete the feedback survey in the Online Learning Community.
1 Credit is available for attending the live session or viewing the on-demand recording.
To receive CSAEd credit, attendees must complete the feedback survey that offers the certification in each session. Once you have attended all the live sessions or watched the on-demand sessions for which you would like to request credit, visit the Continuing Education (CE) website to fill out the Student Affairs Education Certification Request Form for all the sessions. All certificants must fill out one for the live session and a separate one for the on-demand sessions. Visit the Continued Education (CE) website to learn more regarding deadlines and receive your certificate of completion for the Virtual Conference.