MARCH 12-14, 2026
2026 CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS
Student Academic Presentations
Student member presentations are the centerpiece of every Alpha Chi convention! Your students will gain valuable presentation experience on a national stage where they get to field questions from interested peers and faculty judges, compete for a $200 presentation prize, and earn an excellent resume enhancement.
Collaborative Research Competition
Alpha Chi is an interdisciplinary honor society, and this annual competition is one way Alpha Chi fosters collaboration among student members from different academic fields. Student teams compete for a first-place prize of $5,000 and a second-place prize of $2,500, which are awarded directly to the students. Read the 2025-26 Call For Projects here!
Development Workshops
Your students will attend sessions designed to help them improve their knowledge and skills as they prepare to head to graduate school or begin their careers. Topics include interview tips, applying to graduate school, resume writing, and those all-important power skills of communication, collaboration, empathy, and problem-solving.
Keynote Speaker: Jeff Barnes
In this inspirational keynote, attendees will step into the story of Walt Disney and take a look at what it really took for him to succeed against the odds. Having created and taught a college course on Disney’s vision and leadership, Jeff uses the wisdom of Walt to demonstrate how to lead like a visionary and achieve greater goals.
Service & Leadership Opportunites
In addition to hands-on community service during the convention, students will be elected to regional and national leadership which provides them with new skills to bring back to your campus.
FACULTY ADVISOR DEVELOPMENT
While a lot of convention programming is geared toward student members, Alpha Chi’s conventions hold many opportunities for chapter advisors to give back while also growing their professional resume and experience.
Build Your CV
Serve on a judging team for a category of student presentations or moderate a presentation session with Q&A. Facilitate a topical roundtable discussion or share your expertise by leading a development workshop.
Gain Professional Development
Attend an advisor development session on matters such as dealing with AI in the classroom or changes in higher education. Network with other chapter advisors and share ideas on strengthening your chapter and improving member engagement and collaboration.
Run for a Leadership Position
Chapter advisors also have the opportunity to serve as regional officers and members of Alpha Chi’s National Council. Most of our seven regions have openings this
“Facilitating a passion crucial that academic practitioners part of society.”
acilitating student research is passion for me. I think it’s students see themselves as practitioners whose work is society.”
Dr. Craig Nakashian, Chapter Advisor
GRANTS
FOR TRAVEL & HOUSING
Alpha Chi understands that funding student travel is challenging. However, unlike other student organizations, Alpha Chi has always provided financial support for our chapters to attend our national conventions. Other honors conferences offer no monetary support for attendance and have expensive registration fees, whereas Alpha Chi’s convention fee is greatly subsidized.
In addition, each chapter participating fully gets access to travel and housing grants. As you can see below, this year each chapter could receive up to $1,320 in reimbursements based on housing specifics, delegation composition, and the chapter’s method of travel.
Maximum Grant Funding Per Chapter
JOIN US AT THE HILTON
LAKE BUENA VISTA AT DISNEY SPRINGS
Convention attendees have access to Alpha Chi’s exclusive room rate, which includes:
Wireless internet
Shuttle to & from all Disney parks
DVDNow Movie Rentals
Two 16 oz. Starbucks coffees daily
One $5 discount on an attraction ticket sold at the concierge desk
HOTEL AMENITIES
• Outdoor heated pools & hot tub
• On-site restaurants & market
• Discounted theme park tickets
• Park early entry
• On-site activities (arcade, golf, etc.)
Located just steps away from Disney Springs, an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex with over 150 resturants & shops!
REGISTRATION
Convention registration opens
Early bird registration ends Last day to register presentations
We hope you are excited about making it possible for your Alpha Chi chapter to send at least one chapter advisor and one student member to participate in this year’s convention.
For details on how to access national funding and how to prepare for the convention, visit our website to peruse the official 2026 Convention Info Packet!
