Transforming 21st Century Higher Education Through Community-Engaged Scholarship

May 5, 2017

What is the role of the research university in today's world?

How do we advance the public purpose of higher education to meet 21st century challenges?

Community-engaged scholarship (CES) prioritizes interdisciplinary collaboration with ethical and methodologically rigorous learning and research to strengthen the capacities of the university and its community partners to work together as equals to address critical global challenges. This intellectual framework not only augments the natural strengths of NU’s schools and units and enlivens the very ethos of the University, it also produces the knowledge, partnerships, and leaders necessary to create a just, sustainable world. CES represents an opportunity for institutions of higher education to achieve their public purpose to understand and address the increasing complexity, diversity, and interdependence of today’s world.

This year-end retreat culminates a year of inquiry and coalition building within the Community-Engaged Scholarship Working Group at the Buffett Institute. Our progress over the past year has confirmed our readiness to move from principles to implementation. This day-long event will provide us with the opportunity to:

  • take stock of the community of practice we are building at Northwestern;
  • examine the institutional commitments and structures needed to support our shared work at Northwestern;
  • develop a roadmap for adopting an actionable framework for CES at Northwestern.

AGENDA

9:30 – 10:00AMRegistration and Check-in

10:00 – 10:15 AMWelcome

10:15 – 11:15 AMKeynote Address, Richard Kiely

11:30 – 1:00 PMLunch Plenary Session – Panel

1:15 – 2:15 PMBreakout Sessions – Meet in Subgroups

2:15 – 3:00 PMWrap Up – Takeaways, Next Steps, Final Thoughts

Clayton Hurd directs the Public Service Scholars Program, the Community-Based Research Fellowship Program, and the the Graduate Public Service Fellows Programat the Haas Center of Public Service at Stanford University as the senior program director for public research service and graduate engaged scholarship. Clayton also serves as a lecturer in the Program on Urban Studies.In these roles, he supports graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in linking their passion for community service and action with academic study and research in their field(s) of interest. Clayton is dedicated to helping Stanford students develop their potential for public scholarship and social action at the local, national and global levels.

Ryan McBrideholds a joint appointment with the School of Liberal Arts and the Center for Public Service at Tulane University as an administrative assistant professor. Through these roles, he teaches service-learning courses, directs a multidisciplinary service-learning project, as well as contributes to the Center in various administrative capacities. The service-learning project is aimed at expanding the opportunities for New Orleans youth to participate in debate. It originated from Ryan's service-learning course, "Aristotle in New Orleans," an intensive study of classical rhetoric illuminated (and complicated) by the practical challenges of coaching middle school debate in New Orleans.The program has earned a grant from the American Philosophical Association, awards from mayors Nagin and Landrieu, and is currently used as a national model by the Middle School Public Debate Program.

Speaker Biographies

Richard Kielyis a senior fellow at Cornell University’s Engaged Cornell center for program evaluation, provides support, guidance, resources, coursework and professional development opportunities for faculty, students, and community members who are interested in community-engaged learning and research. His research focuses primarily on institutional models that foster sustainable campus-community partnerships, as well as the learning processes and outcomes that occur in service-learning courses and community-based research programs. Richard is an active scholar in the area of service-learning and engagement in higher education and regularly conducts seminars and workshops for students and faculty on course design, experiential learning, service-learning, community-based participatory action research, assessment, and program evaluation. He is currently working on a co-authored book Building a Better World: The Pedagogy and Practice of Global Service-Learning.

Denise Galarza Sepúlvedais the inaugural director of University of Michigan’s new Center for Engaged Academic Learning. In her role as director of CEAL she supports community-centered courses, strengthens existing partnerships, and brings together faculty, students and community members in order to generate new synergies around engaged learning.Throughout her career she led various initiatives designed to bridge academic endeavors with work in communities, both locally and abroad. She has garnered awards for her teaching, course design, and for her commitment to supporting minority groups on campus.

This event is hosted by the Community-Engaged Scholarship Working Group

at the Buffett Institute for Global Studies, Northwestern University