Friday, October 2nd, was the 2015 IOHRM Professional Development Conference. This conference was first held in 2013, so we were absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to hold the event again this year. Students, faculty, and alumni braved the floodwaters to make it to this year's conference, which featured keynote speakers, student presenters, and a panel of our program's alumni.
Attendees had the opportunity to mingle Thursday night at a pre-conference reception preceding the next day's event. At the conference, alumni were updated on the current state of the IOHRM program before students James Westwood, Jon Powers, and Dea Kamberaj presented on research led by Dr. Shawn Bergman on the use of social media and big data by employers. After lunch, Dr. Jim Westerman enlightened attendees on the importance of sustainable business practices and how HR professionals can have a role in these practices. Cynthia Miller of Lowe's Home Improvement followed with a discussion of best practices in change management and its relationship to the fields of HR and I/O psychology. Our last talk of the day came from a panel of IOHRM alumni —Sarah Light from ECRS, Stacey Hussey from MDI, and Jennifer Cline from TIAA CREF—who, led by first-year Sandra Altman, discussed various current trends in HR and answered questions from current students. Following the presentations, those present attended attendees enjoyed a cocktail reception and dinner.
Professional Development Conference attendees
