2026 UMC3 Agenda

January 13, 2026 | Jackson Avenue Center

8 a.m. – Check-In & Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – Welcome & Opening Remarks

8:45 a.m. – Keynote: Marshall Ramsey on Storytelling Marshall Ramsey is an award-winning editorial cartoonist, author and speaker known for his uplifting and humorous presentations. His engaging talks blend laughter with insight as he explores the power of storytelling to connect with audiences and inspire action.

9:45 a.m. – Breakout Sessions (Choose One)

SESSION 1: What's Working? What's New? Join a facilitated idea exchange where communicators share tactics, tools and lessons learned across campus. Connect with peers in audience-focused groups (prospective students, current students, alumni, parents, faculty, etc.) and discuss questions like: How are you leveraging AI tools in your work? What communication challenges are you facing with your audience? What new platforms or tactics are delivering results? Walk away with actionable ideas you can implement immediately.

SESSION 2: Leading with Impact: Telling Stories that Truly Connect Our campus is filled with students thriving through unique experiences and research that changes our quality of life and our understanding of the world. This session is about pulling those moments of impact to the front of your stories so you can connect directly with your audience. We’ll walk through how to lead with impact and share tips and tricks for implementing this approach in your storytelling.

10:45 a.m. – Breakout Sessions (Choose One)

SESSION 3: Getting the Most Out of Agency Partnerships Our agency partners share insider tips on effective collaboration, from briefing and budgeting to feedback and timelines. Learn how strategic vendor relationships can strengthen your work while maintaining brand consistency across campus. Q&A included.

Participating Vendors: Ologie, Red Window, Local Focal LLC and more

SESSION 4: From Vision to Execution: Writing Stronger Creative Briefs A clear, well-crafted creative brief is one of the most powerful tools in the marketing and communications toolbox, but it’s also often overlooked. In this hands-on workshop, attendees will walk through the essential elements of a strong brief and why each matters for guiding strategy, aligning stakeholders, and empowering creative teams to produce their best work.

11:45 a.m. – Lunch

12:55 p.m. – Live Brainstorming & Workshop with Visit Oxford Join us for an interactive, hands-on session designed to bring our community together around a shared goal: telling the interconnected story of Oxford and Ole Miss. This collaborative workshop with Visit Oxford explores how our university and city elevate one another to create a place and experience like no other.

Participants will work together to bring their ideas to life with the opportunity for prizes for the most creative, compelling work. Walk away with practical experience in collaborative ideation and creative brief development, while gaining inspiration for stories you can tell in your own day to day.

2:55 p.m. – Understanding Gen Alpha: Research Presentation & Parent Panel As Generation Alpha begins to emerge as the next cohort of prospective students, understanding their characteristics, values and influences is critical for higher education marketing and communications. Dayana Kibilds, vice president of strategy at Ologie, will present key research findings exploring how Gen Alpha differs from Gen Z, what similarities they share and how their Millennial parents are shaping their worldview and expectations.

Following the presentation, Dayana will moderate a panel discussion with parents of Gen Alpha students, providing real-world insight into how this generation is developing and what implications their arrival on college campuses may have for enrollment marketing, student communications and institutional messaging. This session offers a forward-looking perspective on the prospective students we’ll be engaging in the years ahead.

About Dayana Kibilds: Dayana Kibilds is vice president of strategy at Ologie, where she helps educational institutions clarify their enrollment challenges and turn insight into action. Her work sits at the intersection of research, language, and empathy, with a focus on helping institutions communicate in ways that are more human, accessible, and effective. She is the co-author of Mailed It! A Guide to Crafting Emails that Build Relationships and Get Results and a sought-after global speaker on enrollment marketing, email strategy and stakeholder alignment.

4:10 p.m. – Door Prizes & Closing Remarks

4:30 p.m. – Adjourn