By Kelly Stenka
When Luis Sotelo, Doane University’s vice president for community and government relations, traveled to Japan for a Socrates Program seminar hosted by the Aspen Institute Japan, he didn’t anticipate the global perspective it would bring to Doane.
“I was in a room with a former advisor to the prime minister of Spain, a former member of the Romanian parliament, a diplomat from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an executive from Google Asia-Pacific,” Sotelo said. “I joke that I was the ‘commoner’ in the group, representing higher education among leaders from government and industry. Everyone was curious about Nebraska, so I found myself talking about it quite a bit.”
The Aspen Institute brings together leaders from around the world to exchange ideas and address major issues, including higher education. During the seminar, the Aspen Institute Socrates Program’s executive director asked Sotelo what he thought about the idea of bringing the Socrates Program to Doane. A few weeks later, the executive director invited Doane President Roger Hughes to attend a session in Aspen, Colorado in July.
Hughes joined a cohort that included ambassadors, Pentagon officials and Wall Street executives. “I was the only college president there,” Hughes said. “Anytime education came up, the questions came my way. It was flattering to be considered an expert in the room.”
Hughes said the cohort format emphasized collaboration. His group was tasked with exploring the future of the workforce as artificial intelligence becomes more prominent.
“A facilitator set the tone, but it was the participants’ expertise—sharing, debating and building ideas—that shaped our
outcomes,” Hughes said.
Inspired by the experience, Doane leaders are planning a one-day event on campus centered on a key question in higher education. The event would bring together thought leaders from Nebraska and beyond, along with students and faculty from multiple institutions, to encourage collaboration and innovation.
Hughes said the university is committed to the idea but will seek support from its community and partners to move it forward.
Doane hopes the event will strengthen its role in leading conversations about the future of education, reinforcing its reputation as a small university with big ambitions.
