September 2009 - Talloires Network of Engaged Universities


September 1, 2009	The Talloires Network E-Newsletter
In This Issue Announcements Talloires Network News Featured Program Featured Interview Higher Education News Opportunities Papers and Publications Upcoming Events Resource of the Month Secretariat News Newest Members Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (Kazakhstan) Universidad de Concepción (Chile) University of Pretoria (South Africa) University of Sindh (Pakistan) Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela) Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa) The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan) Lingnan University (Hong Kong) To see a full list of our member institutions, click here Not a member of the Talloires Network? Learn how to JOIN NOW>> Talloires Website Remember to visit our website and look at these features: Google Map showing our member universities Resources Civic Engagement Experts Tools and Resources Helpful Links Student Resources Foreign Language Resources About the Talloires Network Innovations in Civic Participation and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University serve as the Secretariat of the Talloires Network. Contact Us Susan Stroud ICP Executive Director stroud@icicp.org Rob Hollister Dean of the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service robert.hollister@tufts.edu Elizabeth Babcock Talloires Network Coordinator babcock@icicp.org John Pollock Talloires Network Fellow pollock@icicp.org Talloires Network Steering Committee Lawrence S. Bacow, Chair President, Tufts University Brenda Gourley Vice-Chancellor, The Open University John J. DeGioia President, Georgetown University Juan Ramón de la Fuente President, International Association of Universities Mónica Jiménez de la Jara Minister of Education, Chile Shamsh Kassim-Lakha Founding President, Aga Khan University and Member, Board of Governors, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Goolam Mohamedbhai Secretary General, Association of African Universities José Ignacio Moreno León Rector, Universidad Metropolitana en Caracas Sari Nusseibeh President, Al-Quds University Janice Reid Vice-Chancellor, University of Western Sydney	Update from the Chair: President Larry Bacow The steady increase in signatories to the Talloires Declaration over the past year reflects the growing international consensus on the importance of civic engagement in higher education. Through continued collaboration between our members and the Network secretariat, we will build on this positive momentum in the coming months in a number of ways, including through a new pilot program creating civic engagement partnerships among several member institutions. After a competitive application process, the Network secretariat has selected six universities in Africa, the US, and the UK to form bilateral partnerships to advance civic engagement and service learning at their institutions. The program has five overarching objectives: To develop bilateral and multilateral partnerships among the participating universities; to meet local, regional, or global needs; to improve partnerships between the university and the community; to engage students in these partnerships; and to expand each university’s level of community engagement We are confident that these universities will develop sustainable partnerships that will provide a model for future partnerships among Talloires Network members. More information about this exciting initiative can be found in the "Announcements" section of this newsletter and in the "Featured Interview" with Dr. Herman Musahara of the National University of Rwanda, one of the program participants. We look forward to sharing more news with you in the coming months as the program develops. Announcements Announcing the participants of the Talloires Network Twinning Program We are pleased to announce that six institutions from Africa, the US, and the UK have been selected to form bilateral partnerships to support civic engagement efforts. The paired institutions are Cape Peninsula University of Technology (South Africa) and Tulane University (US); Kenyatta University (Kenya) and Smith College (US); and the National University of Rwanda and the University of Brighton (UK). Learn more about the twinning program on our website in the coming months. Talloires Network News Regional meeting in Buenos Aires The Talloires Network convened a meeting of current and prospective members in Latin America with our partner in the region, the Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario (CLAYSS) on August 19, 2009. The meeting allowed universities to meet, exchange ideas, and learn about opportunities for collaboration. More information about the meeting will be posted on our website. Featured Program Assistance Program for Local Development (PADEL), third-place winner of the MacJannet Prize PADEL, based at the Universidad Señor de Sipan in Peru, promotes local development through the implementation of service-learning courses in every faculty. PADEL was formed in collaboration with the university, municipalities and civil society organizations and encompasses almost every community surrounding the university. Projects under the umbrella of PADEL include assistance for communities on the use of technology, training and management on the use of cultural resources for tourism and mentoring programs for children living in rural impoverished areas. Learn more on PADEL’s MacJannet Prize profile>> Featured Interview Dr. Herman Musahara is an Associate Professor and the Director of National University of Rwanda’s Consultancy Bureau. NUR was one of the six institutions selected to participate in the new Talloires Network twinning program, and Dr. Musahara is one of the principal staff members involved in the partnership. Here he speaks with the Talloires Network about NUR’s current civic engagement activities, working in a post-conflict setting, and his hopes for the twinning program. Excerpt from interview: "The post conflict capacity needs have shaped the ‘raison d’être’ of what NUR can do in the period after genocide. Taking the University to the people has been an effort of bridging the knowledge we generate and skills we impart with the needs of the community of alleviating poverty and raising productivity in the aftermath of the genocide." Read the full interview>> Higher Education News “Engagement” a challenge for higher education in Southern Africa The Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) issued a study of higher education in SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) region. One of the 20 challenges identified was university engagement with local communities. "African universities need to find ways of being responsive and engaged in a manner best suited to African conditions," the report says. Read coverage on the University World News website and the full report on the SARUA website>> Six universities make commitment to environmental sustainability The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has welcomed its first six member institutions to the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net). The institutions, located in the US, UK, Spain, and China, have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in low-carbon research, and engage in other environmental activities. Read more>> Opportunities State Farm Grants The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is offering grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 for youth led service-learning projects in Canada and the US. Priorities for projects to address include: Financial Education; Access to Higher Education/Closing the Achievement Gap; Natural and Societal Disaster Preparedness; Driver Safety and Environmental Responsibility. All grant proposals are due by Friday, October 2, 2009. Additional information is available on the Youth Advisory Website>> Papers and Publications InSight Call for Papers: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching is a scholarly publication designed to highlight the work of postsecondary faculty at colleges and universities across the United States. Faculty are encouraged to submit original manuscripts that showcase the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) processes or critically discuss SoTL as a scholarship paradigm. Learn more>> Case Study: Knowledge Generation: Community-University Research Partnerships The Social Innovation Generation at the University of Waterloo published this case study, generated from interviews with members of nearly a dozen community-university research projects. It is designed to foster discussion around potential problems that university and community representatives might face during a partnership. Learn more>> Journal of College and Character to publish collection on "Promoting Powerful Learning Partnerships" A special "reader" issue of the Journal of College and Character on the topic of "Issues and Strategies in Promoting Powerful Learning Partnerships on Campus" will be published in August 2009. Authors of this collection of articles will examine the need for greater collaboration between student affairs and academic colleagues in promoting educational outcomes and discuss some of the challenges, opportunities, barriers, and controversies that such partnerships may involve. Learn more>> Upcoming Events Extenso 2009 conference: Extension and Society. Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. October 5-9, 2009 Focusing on university extension programs in the region, the main objective of the conference will be to collectively reflect on the transformative capacity of extension, the process of university reform, and the promotion of a university committed to social transformation. Learn more>> Ninth International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. October 9-12, 2009 The Experiential Learning Service of the University of Ottawa and the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement are co-sponsoring the Ninth International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. The theme of the conference is Research for What? Making Inquiry Matter. The conference organizers are particularly interested in receiving proposals that address the goals underlying research, the most effective means of achieving them, and the implications of such goals. Learn more>> Third International Symposium on Service-Learning: "Service-Learning in Higher Education: Educators, Communities, and Students." Athens, Greece. November 22-24, 2009 Hosted by the University of Indianapolis, this symposium encourages participants to explore a wide range of issues related to research, curriculum design, assessment, institutional support, community connections and partnerships, and student development, with the goal of providing participants with perspective on critical issues, paradigms, and challenges in service-learning in higher education. Learn more>> University-Community Engagement Conference 2009. Penang, Malaysia. November 23-26 2009 Organized by the Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Division of Industry & Community Network (BJIM), the conference aims to revisit the missions of universities and to explore ways of making engagement more meaningful, inclusive and sustainable. In order to ensure that universities can continue to protect our planet as well as serve the public good, sustainability issues will also be addressed. Learn more>> Resource of the Month Fundraising Resources for Student-led Civic Engagement Projects Talloires Network staff identified four helpful resources on fundraising for August’s Talloires 24 Student Discussion. The resources include tips on developing a budget, organizing fundraisers, and approaching university administrators for funding. Also be sure to visit the discussion forum, where students from 14 countries addressed fundraising challenges and shared advice>> Talloires Secretariat News Last week we bid farewell to Hannah Ayers, Talloires Network Service Fellow. Hannah started working with the Network in September 2008 and had a tremendous impact on the growth of the Network’s membership and activities. Through work on our website, blog, monthly newsletter, and direct communications with member universities, Hannah contributed greatly to the Network’s ability to gather and disseminate useful information among our membership. She also took the lead in creating our Civic Engagement Experts list, our Student Peer Advisor Program, and the Talloires 24 Student Discussion Series. These initiatives have done a great deal to engage faculty and foster connections among faculty and students at Talloires Network universities. The Talloires Network Secretariat sincerely thanks Hannah for all of her contributions to the Network, and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.
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