Share your expertise with peers.

Call for Proposals for the VAPPA 2027 

Submit your Application

Stewards of the Commonwealth: Caring for What We’ve Built

VAPPA invites educational facilities professionals, industry partners, and subject matter experts to submit proposals for the 2027 Conference.

This year, we are focusing on the responsibility facilities professionals share as stewards of the buildings, infrastructure, financial resources, systems, and people entrusted to our care.

We are looking for practical, engaging sessions built around real experiences. Tell us what worked, what didn’t, what you learned, and what others can take back to their own institutions.

Single presenters, co-presenters, panels, and interactive formats are welcome. Sessions should be designed for approximately 45 minutes of presentation or activity followed by 10–15 minutes of discussion and Q&A.

We are especially interested in sessions that may qualify for continuing education credits such as CEUs or PDHs for engineers, architects, project managers, energy professionals, facilities leaders, licensed trades professionals, and others.

The VAPPA 2027 program will be organized around five areas of stewardship. These tracks provide a framework for proposals while allowing presenters flexibility to bring forward new ideas, case studies, lessons learned, and practical solutions.

Stewarding People

Building the Facilities Workforce Apprenticeships, retention, leadership development, succession planning, and preparing the next generation of facilities professionals.

Stewarding Systems

Making Existing Buildings Work Better BAS, predictive maintenance, energy performance, cybersecurity, and technology that improves reliability and extends asset life.

Stewarding Dollars

Making the Case for Investment Total cost of ownership, capital renewal, deferred maintenance, prioritization, and communicating facilities needs to leadership.

Stewarding Places

Caring for Aging Facilities Historic buildings, renovation, adaptive reuse, infrastructure renewal, and strategies for extending the life of existing assets.

Stewarding the Experience

Facilities Through the Eyes of the Campus Community Customer service, communication, comfort, accessibility, student experience, and creating environments that support learning and living.

Submit your Application

The Presentation Submission Form will guide you through the process. To submit a proposal for the 2027 Conference, please complete your submission no later than end of business on December 1st, 2027.

When submitting, you’ll be asked to provide:

  • Presentation Title – clear and concise, suitable for the program.

  • Abstract/Description – a short summary of your session (150–250 words).

  • Conference Track – select the best fit from the five themes:
    People in the Age of AI, Closing the Trades Gap, Securing the Smart Campus, Tech in Action, Innovation at the Edge.

  • Learning Objectives – key takeaways participants will gain.

  • Speaker Information – name, title, institution/company, short bio, and headshot.

  • Format Preference – presentation, panel, or interactive session.

  • Target Audience – K-12, higher education, vendors, or mixed.

Thank you!

Seth Arnold – VP for Conferences

Submit your Application

Some suggestions to spur your thinking:

Need an Idea?

Some of the best conference sessions start with a simple question:

“We faced this problem — here’s what we tried, what happened, and what we learned.”

Potential topics might include:

    • Steward the Places

      • Tackling deferred maintenance with limited resources
      • Managing historic or aging facilities
      • Prioritizing capital renewal
      • Improving preventive maintenance programs
      • Facility condition assessments and asset planning
      • Extending the useful life of existing buildings
      • Adaptive reuse and renovation strategies
      • Lessons learned from major projects, failures, or emergency repairs

      Steward the People

      • Developing and retaining skilled trades professionals
      • Building apprenticeship or workforce pipeline programs
      • Building stronger frontline supervisors
      • Succession planning and knowledge transfer
      • Recruiting in a competitive labor market
      • Developing future facilities leaders
      • Improving employee engagement and retention
      • Strengthening team culture across maintenance, custodial, grounds, and operations

      Steward the Dollars

      • Making the funding case to senior leadership
      • Demonstrating the value of facilities to institutional leadership
      • Total cost of ownership and lifecycle decision-making
      • Prioritizing limited maintenance and capital resources
      • Building a compelling deferred-maintenance case
      • Translating facility condition into financial risk
      • Balancing operational needs with long-term renewal
      • Finding efficiencies without reducing service quality

  • Steward the Systems

    • Using BAS and analytics to improve building performance
    • Applying AI or emerging technology to existing facilities
    • Improving energy performance without major capital investment
    • Improving infrastructure reliability
    • Preventive and predictive maintenance
    • Managing aging HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and utility systems
    • Using data to drive maintenance decisions
    • Cybersecurity and operational technology
    • Lessons learned from outages, failures, and operational disruptions

    Steward the Experience

    • Improving communication with students and campus stakeholders
    • Connecting facilities performance to student success
    • Improving customer service within facilities organizations
    • Creating better resident, student, faculty, and staff experiences
    • Indoor environmental quality and occupant comfort
    • Custodial quality and campus appearance
    • Accessibility and inclusive environments
    • Managing expectations during outages, projects, and disruptions
Submit your Application