Slate Summit 2024 Recap
Slate Summit 2024 was an incredible gathering of Slate users from all over the country. The annual conference, which was held at Chicago’s Navy Pier, brought together a whopping 4,500 Slate users. The event was a unique opportunity for participants to share their experiences, learn about new Slate features, and network with other higher education professionals.
By The Numbers
4,500 Slate users and engineers
70+ sessions
40+ Preferred Partner booths
15 minutes of Slate fireworks
12+ Slate at Sea cruises
1 Mark McGrath show (of pop band Sugar Ray) that brought the house down Thursday night.
And we’ll do it all again next year in Las Vegas! Scroll down for 2025 details and to see more photos from this year.
The Slatest Event
The conference kicked off on Wednesday with the inaugural Slate.org Summit. Geared toward high school counselors and drawing professionals from around the country, the event included a panel session with Angel Perez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), college visits to DePaul, Northwestern, and Northeastern Illinois University, as well as sessions covering student mental health, counselor resources, and the use of Slate.org for high schools and colleges. The event ended — as all Technolutions events do — with a reception and a chance for counselors and college recruiters to connect.
On Thursday, Slate Summit 2024 began with the Slate Icon Awards featuring live announcing by Queen Noveen. Following the Slate Icon Awards, 149 presenters from 99 organizations led 79 sessions covering a variety of topics over the course of 1.5 days. Presenters were selected out of numerous applicants and shared their insights and experiences with the audience. Summit highlights included a stage band led by Nate Strasser, blue carpet interviews by Mark McGrath, the inaugural sailing of Slate at Sea affinity groups, and performances by Mark McGrath and Maggie Speaks band. A fireworks show on Navy Pier and the Slate After Dark coding party capped off the night.
A half day of sessions and affinity group cruises continued on Friday. The conference concluded with Alexander’s closing session where he shared Slate After Dark ideas, discussed new features, the impact of AI, and the future of Slate.
The following features announced during Alexander’s opening session are now available in Production databases – links to documentation will be added to the 2024 Slate Summit Executive Summary as those articles become available:
Direct SQL Logging
SFTP Logging
Batch Gift Entry
Timeline Filtering
Universal Batch Management
Interface Themes
Slate Icon Award Winners
Best Slate Song
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk
Best Slate Summit Video
Best Slate Summit Cocktail
The Configurable Cocktail (2019) (Guava, Lime Juice & Liquor of Choice) – which was served at the Networking Event later that evening!
Best Slate Spirit
Elodie Hardt, Systems Analyst Project Manager of Enrollment and Student CRM Systems at the University of Richmond
Best Community Contributor
John Michael Cuccia, Senior Technology Consultant at RHB
Best Campus Contributor
Rabia Shattuck, CRM Coordinator at the University of Arkansas
Best Internal Portal
The UNF myNest Project Team assisted by HCRC, University of North Florida
Best External Portal
Hail Slate Recruitment and Data Team assisted by RHB, Mississippi State University
Save the Date for Slate Summit 2025
Join us from June 25-27 for Slate Summit 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada! We will be gathering at Caesar's Forum, a brand new convention center that opened in 2020. It is all one space and one level, air-conditioned, and incredibly easy to get around in between sessions, and includes a massive dining hall that will seat 10,000 people.
