Boundless Together Annual Conference - Office of University Engagement and Enrichment

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Conference Overview

The Boundless Together Annual Conference brings together leaders and learners from the University of Rochester, the Rochester community, and beyond for collective education, dialogue, and reflection.

The 2025 conference will be held on Friday, October 3 at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

The 2025 conference theme, “Meeting the Moment,” is rooted in the belief that this is a time of opportunity, growth, and meaningful connection. This year’s conference will offer a range of inspiring speakers and engaging breakout sessions designed to equip attendees with practical tools and insights. Together, we’ll explore ways to strengthen community, foster belonging, and support personal and collective well-being. Participants will be invited to reflect on and answer the following questions for themselves:

What do I need to know to understand this moment?

What can I do to respond to this moment?

How can I care for myself and my community as we do this work?

All are welcome to attend, including students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the University of Rochester and members of the Greater Rochester community.

Call for Breakout Session Proposals

The Office of University Engagement and Enrichment is excited to invite students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to submit proposals for the 2025 Boundless Together Conference on Friday, October 3, 2025. Proposals are due by Thursday, July 10 at 4:00 pm.

The 2025 conference theme, “Meeting the Moment,” invites attendees to explore meaningful ways to respond to today’s challenges with resilience, empathy, and purpose. We aim to support personal growth, strengthen a sense of belonging, and foster care for ourselves and our communities. We welcome breakout session proposals on a wide range of topics that reflect this theme and encourage diverse perspectives, offering something for both broad and specialized audiences.

Each breakout session will be categorized under one of four session types:

Context: These sessions will help participants gain a deeper understanding of our current moment by providing historical, cultural, social, or situational context.
Best Practices & Case Studies: These sessions will showcase research, evidence-based practices, and/or successful innovations that participants can apply to their own situations.
Training & Professional Development: These sessions will provide participants with opportunities to develop and practice skills for promoting belonging.
Connection: These sessions will encourage participants to engage in dialogue, strengthen their relationships, and/or learn from each other.

Please keep the following points in mind as you prepare your proposal:

Breakout sessions will be 75 minutes long.
Audience sizes for breakout sessions will range from 30 to 250 people, with limited space availability for sessions smaller than 50 people. While there may be some flexibility with room arrangements, the default arrangement is theater-style seating (i.e. rows of chairs facing the front of the room).
We strongly encourage all presenters/facilitators to incorporate interactive elements in their sessions.
Each breakout session will be presented once during the full-day conference—either in the morning (10:45-12:00) or the afternoon (1:00-2:15). Presenters will be free to attend another breakout session during the block when they are not presenting.
Presenters will be notified of committee decisions by the end of July.
Selected presenters will need to provide additional information, including a short bio and copies of presentation materials, after their proposals are accepted.

Breakout Session Proposal Form

Submit a proposal for the upcoming 2025 Boundless Together conference!

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criterion	What it Assesses	Markers of a Top-Scoring Proposal
Conference alignment	To what extent does the proposal align with the goals of the Boundless Together conference and the 2025 theme, “Meeting the Moment?”	The proposal makes a compelling case for how the session will help participants “Meet the Moment” and epitomizes the goals of the Boundless Together conference.
Session content	Does the proposal describe a focused, engaging, relevant, and interesting breakout session?	The proposal is well focused and well written. Engagement strategies are clearly described and will ensure a high degree of participant involvement. The subject matter is relevant to conference attendees and the session would be a popular offering.
Learning objectives	How well do the learning objectives describe what participants will take away from the session?	The learning objectives are clearly written, realistic, aligned with the session abstract, and indicate practical takeaways for session participants. The proposal clearly indicates how the presenter will gauge success.
Coherence	How well do the different elements of the proposal align with each other?	The proposal draws clear and compelling connections between the session abstract, session type, intended audience, and learning objectives.
Evidence base	To what extent does the proposal draw from/incorporate research, theory, and/or best practices?	The proposal is deeply rooted in research, theory, and/or best practices and clearly demonstrates how the presentation is informed by the evidence base.
Presenter expertise	To what extent does the presenter demonstrate relevant expertise or experience in the proposed topic?	The presenter’s CV/resume demonstrates deep expertise and/or relevant experience in the proposed subject matter. The presenter is an experienced facilitator.