Day long conferences do not just happen. Regardless of topic, the conference process is an interesting study of organizing and implementing in its own right. The conference needs legitimization by those who sponsor it, resources are needs to subsidize the effort and there must be a project team of dedicated workers to make it a reality.

The Superintendents Conference of Fall 1995 was attended by eighty-five administrators, graduate students, faculty and other interested members of the educational community of the Capital Region. This concentration of talent and experience was further enriched by the effort to have participants attend who were successful graduates of the EAPS program. Twenty-eight of the thirty-five superintendents of schools in attendance were graduates of the Albany program. They represented k-12 districts stretching from the Canadian border to the southern portion of the mid Hudson Valley and westward of Syracuse.

It took the better part of half a year to contact these administrators and have them commit to coming to this "first of its kind" event. Resources were both fiscal and symbolic depending on the source. The School of Education, Alumni Association of the School and the Department provided the bulk of dollars to subsidize all student and visitor lunch and conference expenses. The Capital Area School Development Association, Alliance for Lobbying, Evaluation, Research and Training and the New York State Council of School superintendents provided pro bono services or materials to be distributed. More than fifteen graduate students in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies gave willingly of their time.

Shireen Yadegari, a full time doctoral student, provides her perspective of the evolution of the conference. Shireen participated in all mailings and planning for the conference. During the day long conference she was responsible for the most complex task of coordinating the lunch and acting as liaison to five students involved in operations and six more students convening three panel discussions.

Dr. Ray O'Connell gave the opening charge to the conference participants and summarized the days activities. He describes highlights of the actual conference proceedings.

The idea to create a conference and reconnect present students in Educational Administration and Policy Studies with current administrative practitioners generated a ten month flurry of activity. The thought was to establish a dialogue with practitioners and a k-12 focus. Involving former University of Albany EAPS students, now superintendents, seemed only natural. In fact, they were to be the conduit through which current issues in the k-12 program concentration could be aired. I believed in the intent of the effort and was happy to help organize and coordinate logistics.

First and foremost, we needed to generate funding for the event. Efforts were made to gain a resource base that could subsidize all costs for students and practitioners once they reached the Albany campus. Participants were asked to absorb the considerable costs of travel to and from the conference.

Due to paper work requirements and limitations, the most efficient way of handling proper food supplies, snack and luncheon arrangements was through the University of Albany catering services. When all features were considered, a day long conference for 80-85 people was the objective.

Funding was very tight and we had to pinch every penny to meet the budget estimates. Many graduate students gave willingly of their time and talents. Roberto Reyes must be mentioned as instrumental in negotiating price reductions that saved several hundreds of dollars off original estimates and allowed the conference budget to remain solvent.

Another important consideration was about the use of particular facilities on the University at Albany campus. The Alumni House was donated as the centerpiece of the main conference panel activities but we still needed a place for a large luncheon crowd and for the giving of special honors of acknowledgment. The Student Campus Center offered the best alternative with the added attraction of a five minute walk across the beautiful uptown Albany campus. The walk would provide a refreshing "stroll" and help bring back Alumni superintendent memories of their student days, we reasoned.

The actual conference began with a coffee and pastry at registration. The Alumni House provided a warm atmosphere that greeted all participants. There was a general session where greetings from the campus and the expectations for the conference were given. Three break out panels, each with a graduate student convenor and recorder, provided an hour and a half of concentrated discussion by practicing superintendents and EAPS faculty. Then came lunch with honors for outstanding service in field and university relations given to Drs. Joseph Testo and Edward Huntington. Beautiful fresh flowers graced every luncheon table, along with name tags for all attendees and arrangements for picture taking and audio recording of all panel sessions. After lunch, the conference reconvened at the Alumni House to hear a final panel discussion by District Superintendents (and EAPS doctoral graduates) Gerald Carroza and Ruth Kellogg.

Eleven graduate students helped with panel presentations and general logistics throughout the day. Eileen Borden, Andreea Serban, Art Recesso, Eileen Camasso and Deborah Chicorelli helped with registration and lunch set ups while RoseMarie Rosen, Lorriane Sleezer, Bill Kennedy, Sally Rojek, Micheal Smith and Hollis Palmer served as recorders or convenors of the discussion panels. The conference would not have happened without the participation of these students. Professors Al Cali, Ray O'Connell and Fred Dembowski were EAPS faculty who participated in and helped coordinate the crucial panel discussions.

Post conference wrap up brings a sense of accomplishment. Conference attendees indicated, overwhelmingly, that they enjoyed the day and encouraged a continuation of such events in the future. It was a valuable "springboard" conference.

The idea for an invitational conference grew from a series of informal conversations between members of the Department and several doctoral students who are currently serving many communities around the capital region as Superintendents of Schools. Inevitably these conversations included some reference to the lost or weakened connections between academic life of the doctoral student and the practical realities of a the post-doctoral career.

As the dialogue continued, each conversant expressed a recognition of the intellectual possibilities that might be realized by expanding the conversations to include more participants. The field has much to offer in informing the teaching and research undertaken at the university whereas practitioners often feel an unfulfilled need to translate and communicate their experiential learning to the educational community beyond the school district or to revitalize the profession through some shared in-depth investigation. This type of collaboration would enrich both the local school district and the university as each person spent time as a reflective practitioner.

To achieve these goals, panels consisting of superintendents, professors and graduate students discussed three board themes which were believed to impact upon the role of the superintendent. Throughout the morning, groups considered the themes of (a) implementing and restructuring, (b) sharing and collaborating and(c) negotiating and promoting. Much of the success of the conference rested upon the active involvement of the practicing superintendents who devoted their time to the preparation of each theme; Drs. Maureen Flaherty, Jim Butterworth and Geoffrey Davis.

The sessions were recorded and during the afternoon the graduate students shared their reactions and interpretations of the morning sessions. As a culminating activity, two district superintendents, Drs. Ruth Kellogg and Gerald Carozza, served as reactants to the day's deliberations. Their insightful comments about the future of the superintendency stimulated a wide ranging discussion among the assembled participants and served to provide a sense of closure.