The Midwest College and University AV Summit v. 11 Tuesday and Wednesday, March 11 and 12, 2025 at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities was a success! We were proud to welcome as our keynote speaker Chrissy Sara, CTS-I, Senior Post-Sales Support Engineer at Sony Electronics Service Engineering.
Tuesday, March 11
Bluum Technology, 1771 Energy Park Drive, St Paul
noon: lunch
1:00–3:00 p.m. (concurrent)
Training Theater: live transcription demo
Innovation and Accessibility in User Control Interfaces Showcase:
-boardroom: Noah Holm, Interim Associate Director, Office of Classroom Management, University of Minnesota
-Badger Room: Andrew Johnson, Instructional and Event Technology Specialist
-Sandbox: Tim Schoenhofen, Academic Media Services Technician, St. Catherine University
-Gopher Room: Mark Eggert, Audio/Visual Technician, Macalester College
Bell Museum, 2088 Larpenteur Ave W, St Paul
3:15–4:45 p.m. backstage tour
Market at Malcolm Yards, 501 30th Ave SE, Minneapolis (parking on north side of building)
5:00–9:00 p.m. dinner and social time
Wednesday, March 12
Robert H. Bruininks Hall
7:15–8:15 a.m.
119 Bruininks Hall: yoga
April Conniff, Revive Yoga and Mobility
Please use the south entrance to the building, where Noah will be standing by to let people in. Participants will be asked to sign this waiver from the instructor, and will be provided a yoga mat from Biamp.
8:00–9:00 a.m.
114 Bruininks Hall: breakfast
9:05 a.m.
220 Bruininks Hall: welcome and stats
9:20 a.m. keynote address
Chrissy Sara, CTS-I, Senior Post-Sales Support Engineer at Sony Electronics Service Engineering
10:20 a.m.: break
10:35 a.m.
220 Bruininks Hall: plenary session
What’s new in AV at your college or university?
A brief report from member schools:
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
Iowa State University
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Northwestern University
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of Notre Dame
University of St Thomas
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
University of Wisconsin-Stout
11:35 a.m.: breakout sessions
123 Bruininks Hall: How to Easily Create an Elevation Drawing
Rick Nimtz, CTS, AV Design Consultant, University of Notre Dame
A plan view (floor plan) of equipment is easy, but how can you give architects, contractors, and facilities personnel an elevation (wall plan) with dimensions? Do you need special software? This session will demonstrate how to create an equipment elevation to scale using Bluebeam Revu software–although any software (or even pencil and paper) can be used.
131A Bruininks Hall: Audio Equity: A Balanced System for All
Michael Hooper, CTS-I, Educational Sales Manager, Biamp
This session examines how audio system design and deployment impact accessibility and intelligibility. The session will explore fundamental concepts such as frequency, loudness curves, the inverse square law, and progress to more complex ideas like signal-to-noise ratio, feedback stability, and comb filtering. Attendees will explore how equalizers, compression, noise gates, limiters, auto mixers, and duckers, can be applied to optimize clarity and consistency. Practical examples will highlight DSP optimization principles that improve audio performance across different environments.
131B Bruininks Hall: Continuing the Conversation with Our Keynote Speaker
Chrissy Sara, CTS-I, Senior Post-Sales Support Engineer, Sony Electronics Service Engineering
Matthew Clay, MS, Assistant CIO for Technology Consulting, Minnesota State University-Mankato
Patrick Eisenhauer, Director of Audiovisual and Event Services, University of St. Thomas
Cassondra Johnson, Production Instructional Designer, Metropolitan State University (St. Paul)
A walk down memory lane sets the stage for deeper conversation into the key take aways from our keynote. What value can we draw from our past experiences and technical know-how to deepen our understanding of technology’s use today and inform our AV solutions of tomorrow? In this breakout session, our panelists will take a deeper look into setting the stage for future classroom advancements while effectively utilizing what’s already in place. Prepare your questions as we all know, it can get a little wild out there.
144 Bruininks Hall: Emerging AV Professionals in Higher Education
Elliot Carpenter, Technology Service Lead, University of Minnesota
What do people relatively new to AV in higher ed want to talk about? What would emerging professionals like to ask each other or others in the audience? What are some struggles and successes? How do you remain engaged and interested in your work? If you have students working for you, how do you keep them engaged?
12:20 p.m.
114 Bruininks Hall: lunch and raffle
1:35 p.m.: breakout sessions
Bruininks 123: Designing for the Human Factors of AV
Mike Pedersen, CTS-D, CTS-I, Audiovisual Experience Manager, Iowa State University
Let’s face it, we’re all human! But what does that really mean for how we design audiovisual solutions? In this class we will do a crash course in a narrow segment of human factors – looking at the sensory and cognitive capabilities and limitations of humans and some corresponding best practices for design. We’ll study the human information processing model to learn how humans receive and interpret their world. Then we’ll look at the seven stages of action and consider the gulfs of evaluation and execution. Finally, we’ll get practical and look at system design methods that can be utilized to help people overcome the two gulfs including concepts such as affordances, conceptual models, making things visible, giving feedback, and mapping.
Bruininks 131A: Post-COVID Classroom Technology
Miranda Novak, Director of Instructional Design, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
Noah Holm, Interim Associate Director, Office of Classroom Management, University of Minnesota
Many institutions installed equipment to accommodate hybrid classrooms for COVID and that technology is aging. What are others doing to keep up what they put in for COVID? Are people thinking about a “next gen” design for classrooms that goes beyond hybrid into something else, or have they found great success with their hybrid spaces and are actively working to update them?
Bruininks 131B: Auracast and Bluetooth Low Energy
Joe Kokal, CTS, Product Specialist, Excellence Marketing
What are the advantages of Auracast and Bluetooth Low Energy? Extended battery life, low latency, improved audio quality, broadcast audio, seamless connectivity, and user-friendly features transform the listening experience for hearing aid users, headphones, and other audio products.
Bruininks 144: How AI is Changing Campus Media Services
Dann Hurbert, Media and Design Specialist, Carleton College
Don Ezra Cruz Plemons, Assistant Director of Creative Experience, St Olaf College
What is AI’s impact on media production teams at small colleges?
2:20 p.m.: break
2:35 p.m.:
Leave 114 Bruininks Hall for campus/classroom tours:
Zoom Room classroom with a mix of projectors and displays, 2 cameras, and ceiling mic array;
Multiple Zoom Rooms in a single space. Each table has an independent Zoom Room with dual displays to show content and gallery views with specialized audio programming.
Production-focused board room for high profile meetings that also allows remote participation via Zoom.
Upstairs at Surly, 520 Malcolm Ave SE, Minneapolis
4:30 p.m.: pizza and social time