The Engaged Campus: A Philosophy, Strategy, & Practice
Vermont Campus Compact is pleased to announce our inaugural "Engaged Campus Forum" which will take place on Friday, April 12th in Burlington, Vermont. This new annual event is designed to bring campus and community stakeholders together to learn about, share promising practices to address, and envision new ways to improve, common public challenges. To provide a framework for the event moving forward, this year's forum will focus on the engaged campus, including:
- What it means to be an engaged campus (definitions, philosophies, standards);
- What an engaged campus implies for our student learning and experience;
- Where the engaged campus is situated in current political, philosophical, and historical perspectives;
- How being an engaged campus can address institutional challenges and strategically position a campus for future success.
Keynote Panel
The 2013 Forum will include a keynote panel consisting of leaders from Vermont higher education institutions. The Panel will respond to current trends in the field regarding higher education's role and responsibility when it comes to fostering democratic engagement. In addition, they'll be asked to respond to the concept of the "engaged campus" as a priority and strategy. There will be time for questions and discussion among participants following the formal program.
Panel members to be announced.
Engaged Campus Awards
The event will also include presentation of awards to representatives of Vermont Campus Compact member institutions who are helping to achieve the vision of the engaged campus.
- Engaged Students (one from each campus)
- Engaged Educators (competitive award)
- Engaged Partnerships (competitive award).
Click here to link to more information on the Engaged Campus Awards
EVENT SCHEDULE:
10:00 – 10:30: Welcome from Vermont Campus Compact
10:30 – 12:00: Keynote Panel & Discussion
12:00 – 12:30: Lunch and Table Conversations
12:30 – 1:30: Awards Presentations
2:00 – 3:30: WORKSHOP: Political, not Partisan: Strategies for Engaging Students in Meaningful Civic Learning
WORKSHOP:
Political, not Partisan:
Strategies for Engaging Students in Meaningful Civic Learning
A Faculty and Staff Workshop at the Engaged Campus Forum
April 12, 2013
2:00 – 3:30pm (following our awards ceremony)
A recent publication by The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement uses terms like "civic malaise," "incivility," and "hyperpolarization" to describe the current state of democracy in the United States. Authors point to a society in which "opportunities for civic alliances" are diminished and citizen passivity is the norm. They call on higher education to play a significant role in the renewal of US democracy, and say that "colleges and universities are among the nation's most valuable laboratories for civic learning and democratic engagement" (A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future, AAC&U, 2012).
Yet, many college faculty and staff members are unsure of the role they could play in fostering civic learning. Sometimes we fear the taboo topic of politics, or we worry about higher education's reputation as an overly liberal institution. Other times, we aren't sure how the work we are doing would logically connect to civic or democratic learning, or we are unsure of what "democratic learning" might look like. Whatever the reason, higher education is not yet living up to the potential associated with it to be a breeding ground for engaged citizenship.
This workshop will begin with three case studies of campus initiatives that have been designed to foster civic learning outcomes among students, then move into a dialogue and purposeful exploration. The goal is for participants to leave with ideas for how they could take small steps toward civic learning in your own settings (be they in the classroom, research lab, residence hall, or student organization).
Presenters Include:
- Champlain College – Using the classroom to develop students' political efficacy, knowledge and skills for engagement..
- University of Vermont – Rocking the Vote through student leadership programs;
- Marlboro College – Engaging civic voices through campus Town Hall meetings.
Event Sponsors
