Dr. Corey R. Sims brings peer-reviewed social psychology research to conference keynotes, HR summits, faculty development days, and community leadership events. Three signature talks grounded in original research, active IRB-approved studies, and real institutional practice.
Most retention strategies are built on the assumption that students and program participants leave because of something they lack: preparation, motivation, financial resources, time. The research tells a different story. Departure is a relational and psychological process. It happens in the gap between what institutions measure and what actually predicts whether someone stays. This talk translates four decades of persistence research into a framework leaders can act on immediately, grounded in Dr. Sims's active research on adult learner belonging and departure risk, currently in IRB pre-approval through Indiana Wesleyan University.
Every AI vendor will tell you their product improves outcomes. Most institutional leaders are not equipped to evaluate that claim. This talk is not about technology. It is about the organizational psychology of AI adoption: why implementations fail even when the tool works, what your staff actually needs before you deploy, and how leaders make responsible decisions without a technical background. Grounded in the Organizational AI Readiness Scale (OAIRS), Dr. Sims's proprietary psychometric instrument currently in IRB approval through Walden University with active Prolific data collection, this talk translates the research into a practical readiness framework for any organizational context.
Social psychology has produced findings that change how you see everything around you. Most of them never leave academic journals. This talk is the translation: three ideas from the research with the most practical consequence for anyone who leads, teaches, coaches, or is trying to understand why people behave the way they do. No jargon in the room. No footnotes during the talk. Just the ideas that matter most and what you can do with them starting Monday morning.
Each of the three talks is designed in two versions: a condensed keynote built for the time slot, and a long-form written companion piece that goes deeper into the research, the frameworks, and the implementation tools.
The keynote is the spark. The companion piece is the fuel. Attendees who scan the QR code at the close of the talk are taken directly to the full written version, complete with annotated reading lists, downloadable worksheets, and links to the courses and instruments that extend the content further.
Your audience leaves with more than an experience. They leave with a working document they can share with their team on Monday morning.
Dr. Sims is an active researcher with five proprietary psychometric instruments across IRB approval and active development, an operating VP overseeing learner success and retention at Indiana Wesleyan University National and Global, an adjunct professor at Walden University's College of Interdisciplinary and Undergraduate Studies, and a U.S. Army National Guard veteran.
The frameworks in these talks are not theorized from a distance. They are built from peer-reviewed research and tested against real institutional constraints. When Dr. Sims discusses what predicts student departure, he is running the retention systems the research describes. When he discusses AI readiness, he is actively developing the psychometric instrument that measures it.
That combination of credential, active research, and executive practice is what makes the difference between a talk about social psychology and a talk that changes how your institution operates.
Share your event details, audience, and format. Dr. Sims reviews all speaking inquiries personally and responds within two business days.
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