Lincoln Legacy Teaching and Learning Community

Beyond Limits: Practical Pathways to the Future of Learning

The challenges we face today are catalysts for the solutions of tomorrow. At our LLTLC conference, educators, technologists, and leaders will share strategies and ideas to transform today's challenges into tomorrow's opportunities. Together, we will chart practical pathways for a stronger, more adaptable future for higher education, empowering us to shape the future of teaching and learning.

• Potential Presenters: Please respond to our Call for Proposals below.
• Potential Exhibitors: Please read about the opportunities for Exhibitors below and contact us to participate in our 2026 Conference.
• Potential Attendees: We will open registration in January 2026. In the meantime, please save the date: May 18-19, 2026 at the Illini Union.

About the Conference

The Lincoln Legacy Teaching and Learning Community is the successor to the "Faculty Summer Institute" (FSI), which for a quarter century hosted an annual conference of educators and instructional-technology professionals. Each May, participants came to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from across Illinois and as far away as Canada (and beyond).

As always, we welcome proposals to address any important issues and concerns in contemporary education, but this year we are focusing on these themes:

• Applied Innovations in Teaching and Learning
• Designing for Student Engagement and Accessibility
• Supporting Student Learning
• Enhancing Teaching and Learning with AI
• Emerging Issues in Higher Education

We're all about active learning at LLTLC. We are asking presenters to provide practical applications that can work for us in our classrooms, online programs, leadership, and support roles.

We want real-world reports, authentic examples, fresh strategies, new toolkits, and flexible templates that can be shared, adapted, and translated to other campuses, courses, and contexts. We want demos, hands-on tutorials, walk-throughs, sample assignments, programs, procedures, resources, and early results. We want to hear about messy, brave, quirky efforts that are still being refined.

Our program will include several types of session over the course of two days:

• Workshops ([50 minutes]): Participants will receive guidance and hands-on practice with an application or technique.
• Presentations ([15 minutes each]): Several presentations on related topics as well as time for Q&A. (We welcome both individual presentation proposals and joint proposals for complete panels.)
• Roundtables ([50 minutes]): Demonstration and interactive small-group discussion on a topic or application.

There will also be opportunities for informal networking and social interaction with friends and colleagues (old and new).

Conference Schedule (Tentative)

• Monday, May 18, 2026: 12:00pm – 5:00pm (lunch is provided)
• Tuesday, May 19, 2026: 8:30am – 4:00pm (breakfast and lunch are provided)

Call for Proposals

The LLTLC planning committee invites you to join us by sharing your insights and expertise. We are now accepting proposals for this year's conference. The deadline to submit a proposal is Thursday, March 5, 2026.

Please submit a proposal by completing this form:

For questions or suggestions, please contact conferences@illinois.edu.

Information for Exhibitors

Those organizations that have exhibited at our past conferences already know the answers to these questions, but if you are new to our community... Here are some reasons to exhibit at our conference in May:

• Targeted Audience: Make connections with educators, technologists, directors, and administrators from education institutions. Lincoln Legacy TLC attracts a specific and valuable audience – key decision-makers from secondary and post-secondary schools.
• Relationship Building: Exhibiting at Lincoln Legacy TLC provides an excellent opportunity to engage in face-to-face interactions with education professionals. Network, conduct demonstrations and gather leads. Gain insights to understand specific needs and challenges.
• Community Support: Join a long-established community dedicated to the use, implementation, and investigation of technology in the classroom. By sponsoring, you demonstrate your commitment to improving teaching and learning.

Exhibitors may choose from several options:

• Platinum Level - $2000
  • Recognition as a Lunch Sponsor, Lottery Prize Sponsor (such as book giveaway) or other suggested sponsorship
  • Premier table space in the main hall
  • Five complimentary registrations
  • One session presentation (50 minutes)
  • Logo placement throughout conference
  • Company logo hyperlinked on website
• Gold Level - $1500
  • Prominent table space in the main hall
  • Four complimentary registrations
  • One session presentation (50 minutes)
  • Logo placement throughout conference
  • Company logo hyperlinked on website
• Silver Level - $1000
  • Preferred table space in the main hall
  • Three complimentary registrations
  • One session presentation (50 minutes)
  • Logo placement throughout conference
  • Company logo hyperlinked on website
• Bronze Level - $500
  • Standard table space in the main hall
  • Two complimentary registrations
  • Logo placement throughout conference
  • Company logo hyperlinked on website
• Virtual Level - $200
  • Logo placement throughout conference
  • Company logo hyperlinked on website

Conference Registration and Accommodations