Bowling Green State University hosted the nation’s first Life Design May 14-15. The event took place in McLeod Hall and brought more than 120 higher education leaders together to explore how life design frameworks are impacting students.
Leaders from 27 universities across North America came together to explore the impacts life design has on student success during and after college. Bowling Green first launched the life design program in 2020, with more than 10,000 students being introduced to the program since launching.
Bill Burnett, co-founder of the Stanford University Life Design Lab was one of the higher education leaders in attendance at McLeod Hall. Burnett formerly hosted a three-day life design training with BGSU faculty and staff in 2020, helping lay the groundwork for Bowling Green’s Life Design program.
“The growth and evolution of Bowling Green’s Life Design program have been remarkable. I’ve never seen a university scale this work at this level before,” he said. “To now see 27 colleges and universities gathered at the nation’s first-ever Life Design Convening at Bowling Green is a testament to their strong leadership in this space.”
University leaders came together to collaborate and exchange ideas of life design success, helping to continue growth of the program at some schools and introducing the program completely at others.
Representatives from Dartmouth College, Oakland University, University of Texas-Austin and Virginia Commonwealth University led presentations to explore ways of integrating life design into universities and the impact it has on students.
Bowling Green’s Life Design program runs through two centers, the Radbill Center for the College of Life Design and the Kuhlin Career Hub. At the Radbill Center students are connected with life design coaches for personal and academic support. At the Kuhlin Career Hub, students are provided with introductions to the University’s industry partners to build opportunities beyond college. The Kuhlin Center helps lead students to internships or mentorship, opening the door for career options after graduation.
