The USETDA 2026 Conference program includes 2 workshops, 3 panel discussions, 12 breakout presentations, user group meetings, flash talks and a poster session.
- Abstracts
- Conference Program (pdf) – link forthcoming
- USETDA 2026
Click on session links below to view the abstract
| USETDA 2026 Program Schedule | ||
| Wednesday 9/23/26 | ||
| Renaissance Hotel – Toledo Downtown | ||
| All Times Eastern | Mosaic Room 1 – All Plenary Sessions | Mosaic Room 2 |
| 8:00 – 9:00 AM | Registration – Hotel Foyer | |
| 9:00 – 11:30 AM | Session 1 – ETDs for Beginners. Organized and moderated by John Hagen (USETDA). Ed Fox (NDLTD) Virtual; William Ingram (Virginia Tech University Libraries) Virtual; Austin McLean (ProQuest, part of Clarivate); Kristin Terrill (Iowa State University Graduate College); Ruth Lu (Ohio University Graduate College); Sally Evans (George Mason University Libraries) Virtual; Emily Flynn (OhioLINK). In-Person. Workshop. | |
| 12:00 – 1:00 PM | LUNCH – Mosaic Room 1 | |
| 1:00 – 1:45 PM | Session 2 – Cookies and Copyright: Combining ETD and Copyright Programming for Student Success. David Advent and Connor Murphy (Utah State University Libraries). Moderator: G.W. Swicord. Virtual. Plenary. | |
| 1:45 – 2:00 PM | Break | |
| 2:00 – 3:00 PM | Session 3 – ETD Accessibility: The Current Landscape and Future Directions. John Fudrow (University of Pittsburgh Libraries), Kim Fleshman, (Bowling Green State University Graduate College), Emily Flynn (OhioLINK), Mark Dill (ProQuest, part of Clarivate), Dan MacKinnon (Overleaf). Moderator: Teri Green. In-Person. Plenary (Panel Discussion). | |
| 3:00 – 3:15 PM | Break | |
| 3:15 – 4:00 PM | Session 4 – MAGS-USETDA Collaboration: Strengthening the ETD-Graduate School Connection. Kristin Terrill, Lily Compton (Iowa State University Graduate College) and Teri Green (University of Toledo College of Graduate Studies). Moderator: Ruth Lu. In-Person. Plenary (Panel Discussion). | |
| 4:00 – 4:15 PM | Break | |
| 4:15 – 5:00 PM | Session 5 – A Multi-University ETD Living Book Project: A One-Stop-Book for ETD History, Process, and Innovation. Larry Tague (University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Graduate Health Sciences (retired)). Moderator: John Hagen. Virtual. Plenary. | |
| 5:00 – 5:15 PM | Break | |
| 5:15 – 6:00 PM | Session 6 – Streamlining Creative Component Submission with ETD Administrator. Kristin Terrill (Iowa State University Graduate College). Moderator: John Hagen. In-Person. Breakouts. | Session 7 – OhioLINK ETD Center Users Group Meeting. Emily Flynn (OhioLINK). Moderator: Teri Green. In-Person. Breakouts. |
| 6:00 – 6:30 PM | Break | |
| 6:30 – 8:00 PM | Opening Reception (Renaissance Hotel – Courtyard) | |
| Thursday 9/24/2026 | ||
| Toledo Renaissance Hotel | ||
| All Times Eastern | Mosaic Room 1 – All Plenary Sessions | Mosaic Room 2 |
| 7:30 – 8:00 AM | Registration – Hotel Foyer | |
| 8:00 – 9:30 AM | Breakfast and Regional ETD Association Networking – Mosaic Room 1 | |
| 9:30 – 9:45 AM | Break | |
| 9:45 – 11:00 AM | Session 8 – Navigating the Thesis and Dissertation Journey – A Cross-Institutional Look at the ETD Process. Teri Green (University of Toledo College of Graduate Studies), Kim Fleshman (Bowling Green State University Graduate College), Tim Watson (Ohio State University Graduate School) and Steve Shaw (Antioch University Libraries). Moderator: John Hagen. In-Person. Plenary. (Panel Discussion). | |
| 11:00 – 11:15 AM | Break | |
| 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Session 9 – Writing Together, Moving Forward: Adapting Dissertation Support for a Changing Landscape. Ruth Lu (Ohio University Graduate College). Moderator: Kristin Terrill. In-Person. Breakouts. | Session 10 – Supporting Students and Staff in Meeting Formatting and Accessibility Requirements: An ETD Assistant for Microsoft Word. Igor Chirikov (University of California – Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education). Moderator: John Fudrow. Virtual. Breakouts. |
| 12:00 – 1:00 PM | LUNCH – Mosaic Room 1 | |
| 1:00 – 1:45 PM | Session 11 – Setting the Standard: Developing an Inclusive Publication Standards Handbook for Master’s Theses and Projects. Jonathan Atwood (Otterbein University Library). Moderator: G.W. Swicord. In-Person. Breakouts. | Session 12 – Teaching to Think in an AI World. Daniel Ferreras (West Virginia University Department of World Languages). Moderator: Sally Evans. In-Person. Breakouts. |
| 1:45 – 2:00 PM | Break | |
| 2:00 – 2:45 PM | Session 13 – ETD Formatting User’s Group Meeting. Sally Evans (George Mason University Libraries). Moderator: Teri Green. Virtual. Plenary. | |
| 2:45 – 3:00 PM | Break | |
| 3:00 – 3:45 PM | Session 14 – Community Engagement Group Meeting. Kristin Terrill (Iowa State University Graduate College) and Ruth Lu (Ohio University Graduate College). Plenary. Flash Talks: Moderator: Kristin Terrill. Plenary. | |
| (1) ADA Title II Changes to Accessibility Standards and Their Impact on Electronic Theses and Dissertations the University of Memphis Libraries: A Work in Progress. (Elizabeth McDonald, University of Memphis Libraries) Virtual. | ||
| (2) Collaboration and Marketing of ETDs: Indian Scenario, Challenges and Solutions. (Manmeet Kaur, Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar Library). Virtual. | ||
| (3) Accessible ETD Templates: Integrating Digital Accessibility into Graduate Student Support. (Nathalia Bauer, University of Central Florida College of Graduate Studies). Virtual. | ||
| (4) Journal of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (J-ETD.org). (Ed Fox, NDLTD). Virtual. | ||
| 3:45 – 4:00 PM | Break | |
| 4:00 – 4:50 PM | Session 15 – Poster Session. Moderators: Sally Evans, John Hagen. Plenary. | |
| 4:00 – 4:10 PM | (1) So You Want to Submit a Graphic Novel? (Kim Fleshman, Bowling Green State University Graduate College) In-Person. | |
| 4:10 – 4:20 PM | (2) Faculty Awareness and Adoption of Electronic Theses and Dissertations in Indian Universities: A Strategic Framework for Accessibility, Social Media Promotion, and B2C Marketing. (Manmeet Kaur, Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar Library) Virtual. | |
| 4:20 – 4:30 PM | (3) From Archive to Ecosystem: Agent-Agnostic Semantic Search for Electronic Theses and Dissertations. (Samartha Madhyastha, Hajra Klair, Amr Aboelnaga, Sehrish Nizamani, Edward Fox and William A. Ingram, Virginia Tech University Libraries & Department of Computer Science) Virtual. | |
| 4:30 – 4:40 PM | (4) From Theory to Practice: A Collaboratively Developed RAG System Demonstrating Metadata-Enriched ETD Discovery with Query Decomposition. (Milan Ramdhari, Sean Flemming, Patrick Hannon, Sehrish Basir Nizamani, Edward Fox and William A. Ingram, Virginia Tech University Libraries & Department of Computer Science) Virtual. | |
| 4:40 – 4:50 PM | (5) The Lasting Effects of Embargoes on ETD Impact Metrics. (Connor Murphy and David Advent, Utah State University Libraries) Virtual. | |
| 4:50 – 5:00 PM | Break | |
| 5:00 – 5:45 PM | Session 16 – ETD Administrator User Group Meeting. Austin McLean and Mark Dill (ProQuest, part of Clarivate).Moderator: Kristin Terrill. In-Person. Breakouts. | Session 17 – You Just Might Find | You Get What You Need: Channeling the Strengths of an Expanding Department. Sally Evans, Deepika Prasad and Hannah Thompson (George Mason University Libraries). Moderator: John Fudrow. Virtual. Breakouts. |
| 6:30 – 8:30 PM | Dine-Arounds (Off-site: dine on your own in small groups) | |
| Friday 9/25/2026 | ||
| Renaissance Hotel – Toledo Downtown | ||
| All Times Eastern | Mosaic Room 1 | |
| 9:00 – 11:00 AM | Session 18 – The University of Toledo Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Showcase. Yasmeen Hamdah (The University of Toledo College of Graduate Studies). Moderator: Sally Evans, Teri Green. In-Person. Workshop. | |
| 11:00 – 11:15 AM | Break | |
| 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Session 19 – Wrap Up Discussion. John Hagen, Teri Green. (USETDA) | |
| 12:00 PM | Optional Tours (Off-site) | |