GPN & ARE-ON Joint Conference 2026: Full Schedule

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.

9:00am CDT

IT Leadership Across Arkansas: Challenges and Priorities from the ARE-ON Member Community

Wednesday June 24, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am CDT

Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V @ 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Senior IT leaders from ARE-ON member institutions share what's driving their priorities right now, from budget and staffing to AI adoption and cybersecurity. This panel offers an honest look at the state of campus IT across Arkansas. Moderated by ARE-ON Executive Director Elon Turner.

Eddie Mahar - Associate VP of IT and CIO - Northwest Arkansas Community College
Eric Boardway - Director of IT - National Park College
Chris Lee - CIO - University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Jon Kelley - Associate VP, Technology - Art and Wellness Enterprises

Moderators

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 9:00am - 9:45am CDT
Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Panel

Company ARE-ON
Audience IT Leaders, CIOs
Subject Strategy, Collaboration & Applications

9:45am CDT

State of Research Cyberinfrastructure

Wednesday June 24, 2026 9:45am - 10:30am CDT

Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V @ 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Find out the latest on research computing in your state, including what's available for you, your students, and your researchers.

Moderators

Frank Wuerthwein

Director, San Diego Supercomputer Center; CEO, Open Science Grid and the National Research Platform, University of California at San Diego

Speakers

Derek Weitzel

University of Nebraska Lincoln

Ryan Johnson

Director of Research Computing, University of South Dakota

Matthew Keeler

Director, IT Research Support Solutions, University of Missouri

Dan Andresen

Professor, Computer Science, and Department Head, Institute for Computational Research, Kansas State University

Daniel Andresen is a professor of computer science at Kansas State University and director of the Institute for Computational Research. Andresen’s research is in distributed systems, ranging from sensor networks monitoring bovine health levels to high performance computing systems... Read More →

Brian Burkhart

Chief Technology Officer, OneNet

Brian Burkhart joined the OneNet team in November 1999 as a systems engineer. He currently serves as chief technology officer and coordinates the overall technical direction of OneNet. He also serves as principal investigator for OneNet’s National Science Foundation grant award... Read More →

Wednesday June 24, 2026 9:45am - 10:30am CDT
Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Panel

Audience Network Engineers, HPC Professionals, Researchers
Subject Infrastructure, Security & Operations

10:45am CDT

State of the State Networks

Wednesday June 24, 2026 10:45am - 11:30am CDT

Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V @ 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Leaders from state research and education networks across the Great Plains Network region will give brief updates on what's driving their work and strategy. Each network representative covers the priorities, projects, and challenges shaping their state's R&E network, offering a fast-moving, multi-state view of where the region is headed.

Moderators

John Hennessey

Asociate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology & OneNet | CIO, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Speakers

Scott Ramoly

Chief Technology Officer, ARE-ON

Chief Technology Officer – ARE-ON
Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network

Chris Kolsrud

Chief Technology and Security Officer, SD Board of Regents

Andrew Buker

Assistant Vice President, Infrastructure Services, University of Nebraska System

Andrew is an Assistant Vice President at the University of Nebraska System, leading Infrastructure Services.

Natasha Angell

Executive Director, MOREnet

Chris Crook

KanREN

KanREN, the national leader in public service connectivity, provides Internet and
network technologies to research, education, and public service institutions in
Kansas. Connect to the exclusive high-speed network that connects Research,
Education and Community Anchors throughout Ka... Read More →

Wednesday June 24, 2026 10:45am - 11:30am CDT
Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Panel

Company Great Plains Network
Audience Network Engineers, IT Leaders
Subject Infrastructure, Security & Operations, Strategy, Collaboration & Applications

11:30am CDT

State of Higher Ed Cybersecurity

Wednesday June 24, 2026 11:30am - 12:15pm CDT

Embassy Suites Conv. Center - Grand Ballroom V @ 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy, Rogers, AR 72758-8936

Higher education institutions face growing cyber threats amid limited resources and complex environments. This panel brings together cybersecurity leaders to share practical approaches for implementing best practices, prioritizing risk, and maximizing impact with constrained teams and budgets.

Panelists will also discuss strategies for communicating cyber risk to leadership and managing the opportunities and challenges of AI within academic environments. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to strengthen cybersecurity resilience across their institutions.

Moderators

Company ARE-ON
Audience Security Professionals, IT Leaders
Subject Infrastructure, Security & Operations

GPN & ARE-ON Joint Conference 2026

9:00am CDT

Elon Turner

9:45am CDT

Frank Wuerthwein

Derek Weitzel

Ryan Johnson

Matthew Keeler

Dan Andresen

Brian Burkhart

10:45am CDT

John Hennessey

Scott Ramoly

Chris Kolsrud

Andrew Buker

Natasha Angell

Chris Crook

11:30am CDT

Chad Johnson

Tamya Stallings

Bryan Carnahan

Ryan Hoffman

Bryan Fendley

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