Timeline
Conference Highlights
In June 2026, CMC and our 5C partners successfully hosted the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (CLAC) conference, welcoming IT executives and technology innovators from 81 premier institutions. This was the most significant technology showcase in CMC's recent history.
Held at the Robert Day Sciences Center on June 9–11 under the theme Consortially Collaborating in California, the conference brought together IT leaders for sessions on generative AI, data analytics, and infrastructure modernization — with CMC's modern technology stack serving as a living demonstration for peer institutions.
Highlights included an AI ScreenShare pre-conference unconference, a Presidential Roundtable Dinner at the historic Athenaeum, and an evening with ComedySportz. Ongoing collaboration continues through a dedicated #clac2026 Slack community.
9–11
Theme & Focus
CLAC 2026 gathered IT leaders from 81 liberal arts institutions under the theme Consortially Collaborating in California — a call to examine how small, mission-driven colleges can leverage shared infrastructure, collective purchasing, and peer knowledge to compete at scale.
Sessions centered on the transformative potential of generative AI in higher education, the evolving role of the liberal arts IT leader, and strategies for institutional collaboration across governance, data, and vendor relationships. The Robert Day Sciences Center — designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and featuring a sky-lit atrium — provided a striking backdrop for three days of conversation and connection.
Program Highlights
- AI ScreenShare Pre-Conference: An unconference-style session where nearly 50 attendees demonstrated live AI implementations — tools, workflows, and experiments from across member institutions.
- Presidential Roundtable Dinner: Held at the historic Athenaeum, featuring the presidents of CMC and Scripps College in conversation on the future of the consortium model — AI, autonomy, and collective scale.
- Main Conference Sessions: Three days of presentations, discussions, and workshops on generative AI adoption, data governance, vendor strategy, and liberal arts technology leadership.
- ComedySportz Evening: An improvisational comedy show brought attendees together for an informal night of laughter and community-building.
- Post-Conference Community: Collaboration continues through a dedicated #clac2026 Slack channel, keeping the network active beyond the conference dates.
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