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Welcome to the GPN & ARE-ON Joint Conference 2026 schedule. Use this page to browse sessions, view speaker and session details, and build your personal agenda for June 22–24 in Rogers, Arkansas. Check back through May as additional sessions and details are added.
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Wednesday, June 24
 

7:00am CDT

Conference Breakfast
Registration and breakfast. PIER Group will have a 15-minute meal speaking opportunity.
Sponsors
PG

PIER Group

PIER Group
Wednesday June 24, 2026 7:00am - 8:00am CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

7:00am CDT

Conference Registration
Registration
Wednesday June 24, 2026 7:00am - 2:00pm CDT
Embassy Suites — Hotel Lobby 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

8:00am CDT

Keynote: Transform IT, Transform Everything in the Higher Education Industry
Morning Keynote
Speakers
MR

Mark Roman

Managing Partner for Education, Infotech Research Group
Wednesday June 24, 2026 8:00am - 8:45am CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

8:45am CDT

State of Higher Ed IT

Moderators
avatar for Elon Turner

Elon Turner

Executive Director, ARE-ON
Elon has spent his entire career in education IT, with seven years in K-12 and thirteen years in higher education as both a technical practitioner and in technology leadership roles. He believes there is no greater way to impact the future of Arkansas and the quality of where he lives... Read More →
Wednesday June 24, 2026 8:45am - 9:15am CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

9:15am CDT

Sponsor Showcase & Peer Networking

Wednesday June 24, 2026 9:15am - 9:30am CDT
Grand Ballroom V — Exhibit Hall 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

9:30am CDT

HPE — Sponsor Session

Sponsors
Wednesday June 24, 2026 9:30am - 10:15am CDT
Ambassador Ballroom A 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

9:30am CDT

PIER Group — Sponsor Session

Sponsors
PG

PIER Group

PIER Group
Wednesday June 24, 2026 9:30am - 10:15am CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

10:15am CDT

Sponsor Showcase & Peer Networking

Wednesday June 24, 2026 10:15am - 10:30am CDT
Grand Ballroom V — Exhibit Hall 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

10:30am CDT

Keynote: Resilient IT: Winning with People and Process
Wednesday June 24, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am CDT
This keynote presents research on how IT organizations can build resilience in the face of environmental turbulence by focusing on the foundational pillars of IT service quality (people) and IT governance (process). Drawing on a study of 157 IT leaders, it demonstrates that resilience is not reactive, but proactively developed through mature governance practices and a strong service culture. Attendees will gain practical, research-backed insights on how to strengthen their IT organizations to adapt, recover, and lead through disruption.

Attendees will leave with a clear, actionable framework to strengthen IT organizational resilience by intentionally advancing IT service quality (people) and IT governance maturity (process), enabling them to lead their organizations more effectively through disruption.

Meeting Audience: CIOs / CTOs, VPs of IT
Speakers
WH

Wesam Helou

Chief Information Officer, Cleveland State University
Wednesday June 24, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am CDT
Ambassador Ballroom D 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

11:00am CDT

State of the State Networks
Wednesday June 24, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am CDT
Panel - main session
Speakers
avatar for Mickey Slimp

Mickey Slimp

Executive Director, Great Plains Network
Recently joined GPN after working on NTIA, HUD, and HRSA grants in Texas. Now constructing a home near UAMS, UALR, and Philander Smith University in Little Rock.
Wednesday June 24, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am CDT
Ambassador Ballroom C 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

11:45am CDT

Lunch & Final Sponsor Showcase
Wednesday June 24, 2026 11:45am - 12:45pm CDT
Final sponsor showcase open during lunch.
Wednesday June 24, 2026 11:45am - 12:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

12:45pm CDT

OAK Supercomputing Center: Resources Overview
Christopher Frennell
Wednesday June 24, 2026 12:45pm - 1:30pm CDT
Ambassador Ballroom B 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

12:45pm CDT

Roundtable: Resources and Funding to Support Advanced Cyberinfrastructure

Speakers
avatar for Dana Brunson

Dana Brunson

Executive Director for Research Engagement, Internet2

avatar for Amy Apon

Amy Apon

Program Director, National Science Foundation
Amy Apon has been a Program Director in the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure since January 2023. She is the lead Program Director for the Campus Cyberinfrastructure program. Apon joined NSF through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act in January 2023 from Clemson University... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Brandt

Kevin Brandt

Program Director, National Science Foundation
Wednesday June 24, 2026 12:45pm - 1:30pm CDT
Ambassador Ballroom C 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

12:45pm CDT

*Workshop: perfSONAR Workshop
*Max Attendee Tickets Available:30
IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Attendees must first complete their Joint Conference registration prior to attending this workshop. In addition, pre-registration for this workshop session is required at: https://gpnandareonjointconference2026.eventbrite.com/
Speakers
Wednesday June 24, 2026 12:45pm - 4:30pm CDT
Ambassador Ballroom A 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

1:15pm CDT

Afternoon Break
Wednesday June 24, 2026 1:15pm - 1:30pm CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

1:30pm CDT

Closing Remarks & Thank You
Closing remarks from GPN and ARE-ON leadership. Final sponsor recognition.
Speakers
avatar for Mickey Slimp

Mickey Slimp

Executive Director, Great Plains Network
Recently joined GPN after working on NTIA, HUD, and HRSA grants in Texas. Now constructing a home near UAMS, UALR, and Philander Smith University in Little Rock.
avatar for Elon Turner

Elon Turner

Executive Director, ARE-ON
Elon has spent his entire career in education IT, with seven years in K-12 and thirteen years in higher education as both a technical practitioner and in technology leadership roles. He believes there is no greater way to impact the future of Arkansas and the quality of where he lives... Read More →
Wednesday June 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Grand Ballroom I–IV 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

2:45pm CDT

*Tour (I³R) — University of Arkansas (SHUTTLE)
Wednesday June 24, 2026 2:45pm - 4:30pm CDT

*Max Attendee Tickets Available:30
SHUTTLE IS AVAILABLE FOR THIS TOUR (To and From the Embassy)

IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Attendees must first complete their Joint Conference registration prior to attending this Tour. In addition, pre-registration for thisTour is required at: https://gpnandareonjointconference2026.eventbrite.com/
Wednesday June 24, 2026 2:45pm - 4:30pm CDT
University of Arkansas — I3R Facility Fayetteville, AR 72701

2:45pm CDT

*Workshop: Introduction to Deploying and Scaling Data-Intensive Workloads with Docker and Kubernetes on the National Research Platform
Max Attendee Tickets Available:40
*IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Attendees must first complete their Joint Conference registration prior to attending this workshop. In addition, pre-registration for this workshop session is required at: https://gpnandareonjointconference2026.eventbrite.com/

Data-Intensive workloads are becoming ever more common in both research and education across the country. However, the necessary skills and technologies needed to optimize these workloads are too often overlooked. In this tutorial, the GP-ENGINE team will provide an overview of containerization, docker, distributed computing, and Kubernetes for data-intensive workload optimization using the National Research Platform (NRP). Participants will gain hands-on experience utilizing the NRP to perform data-intensive workloads and gain insight into how to build and accelerate their own workloads.

Participants will gain knowledge and insight in utilizing the National Research platform to run, scale, and accelerate research workflows.

Audience: HPC & Research Computing Professionals, Faculty and Academic Researchers, New and Emerging IT Professionals
Speakers
avatar for Caughlin Bohn

Caughlin Bohn

HPC Outreach and Training Specialist, UNL Holland Computing Center
Wednesday June 24, 2026 2:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Ambassador Ballroom B 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936
 
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