Talloires Network Newsletter: May 2017

Talloires Network Newsletter
Tufts University || Medford, Massachusetts, USA || March 20, 2017

Dear colleagues,

Talloires Network member universities continue to work with communities worldwide to ensure education and community engagement are used as effective tools for social benefit. We are pleased to announce we have now grown to twelve “Engaged Members” of the Talloires Network. These universities, which together enroll nearly 400,000 students in 10 countries, are ensuring the sustainability of our global effort to build a coalition of engaged universities.

We also are excited about expanding student leadership in the Network through the Elephant Initiative, a collaborative effort with Mastercard Foundation and the Universidad Veracruzana. At the 2017 Talloires Network Leaders’ Conference next month, Student Fellows from six countries will lead an action-planning process focused on access to higher education, leadership development, and transition to livelihoods. The Elephant Initiative represents an important step towards ensuring our students are active leaders in civic engagement.

Also in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, we recently published a report entitled University Education for Transformative Leadership in Africa. The report describes effective strategies for youth entrepreneurship and employment developed and implemented by a cohort of 10 engaged faculty in 6 African countries.

We invite all of you to join the Engaged Faculty and Student Fellows at our upcoming 2017 Leaders’ Conference in Veracruz, Mexico. Over the course of the conference, there will be opportunities for networking, discussion and learning, solidarity-building, and strategic action. Our list of plenary speakers and breakout and dialogue session leaders ensure a promising array of perspectives, knowledge, and experiences.

As we focus on the conference ahead, we want to inform you our next newsletter will be issued in September 2017. Hope to see you in Mexico!

Sincerely,

Anthony Monaco

President, Tufts University

Chair, Talloires Network Steering Committee

TALLOIRES NETWORK NEWS

TNLC 2017

Registration for this year’s TNLC in Xalapa Veracruz, Mexico is open. Learn more about the program, opportunities, and registration here.

Elephant Initiative Student Fellows

In partnership with Mastercard Foundation, the Talloires Network is proud to announce Student Fellows of the Elephant Initiative. Representing six countries from across the globe, these students were chosen because of their dedicated leadership and entrepreneurial spirits. Learn More.

ENGAGED MEMBER NEWS

Twelve Universities Commit to Engaged Membership in TN

Twelve signatory members have become Engaged Members! They are: Charles Sturt University (Australia), Denison University (USA), Effat University (Saudi Arabia), International Medical University (Malaysia), National University of Ireland – Galway (Ireland), National University of Sciences and Technology (Pakistan), Simon Fraser University (Canada), Tufts University (USA), Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico), University of British Columbia (Canada), University of Pretoria (South Africa), and University of St. Andrews (Scotland). Learn More. 

Simon Fraser University Vice-Chancellor Andrew Petter on Community Engagement

Vice-Chancellor Andrew Petter wrote this piece for University World News about community engagement as a better mechanism for assessing university success than rankings. Illuminating the flaws in conventional measures of university rankings, Vice-Chancellor Petter advocates for engagement as a true measure of the understanding and empowerment of HE institutions. Read More Here.

NUI-Galway Highlights the Link Between Climate Change and Global Food Supplies

NUI-Galway recently hosted the International Conference on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security, hosting over 150 of the world’s experts. Their conclusions from the conference highlight the dangerous future of global food supplies in light of impending climate change. Learn More.

Effat University Works to Ensure Student Entrepreneurship Success

By partnering with the Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy, Effat University has created the first women-only workshops on entrepreneurship. Through these workshops Effat University will ensure that students are given the skills and support necessary to create successful local businesses. Learn More.

EVENTS, CONFERENCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Conference on the Role of the Diaspora in the Revitalization of African Higher Education

Institutions of higher education around the world are experiencing significant changes. The dominant trends include internationalization, massification, and privatization. From region to region, stakeholders are asking questions about the role of higher education and actively exploring new practices in knowledge generation and dissemination.

Heads of African universities, regional and national leaders in African higher education, foundations, development agencies and multinational corporations met at Harvard University, on March 30 and 31, 2017 to probe these questions and practices. Importantly, they also discussed the future and revitalization of African higher education to realize Agenda 2063 of the African Union Commission.

The conference was hosted by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP), United States International University, and Harvard University and designed to build on the achievements of the African Higher Education Summit held in Dakar in March 2015. To date, CADFP has awarded 283 fellowships hosted by higher education institutions in 6 countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa). Reports indicate that CADFP is having positive transformative impact on participating fellows and institutions. Efforts to bring the program to scale are underway and include opening it to all African diaspora anywhere in the world including the historic diaspora (not just the African born), and working with higher education institutions anywhere on the continent (beyond the six countries). The conference is a critical part of moving this process forward and as it brought together a wide variety of current and potential key players in African higher education and diaspora affairs.

Highlights include extensive remarks by Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Chancellor Univerity of Dar-es-Salaam and former President of the United Republic of Tanzania as well as an unscheduled appearance and short presentation by Dr. Patrick Awuah, Jr., Founder and President of Ashesi University in Ghana.

The conference was sponsored by Ford Foundation, University of Johannesburg, and Codesria.

Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards

If you or someone you know are under 35 and working to respond to the biggest global sustainability challenges of our time, consider applying for the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards to help fund your dream. Learn More.

Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities & Lynton Award – October 8-11, 2017

The 22nd Annual Conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities is being hosted in Denver, Colorado. At this year’s conference Brown University’s Swearer Center will be presenting the Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement. Nominations for the award are open now. Learn More.

International Society for Third-Sector Research – October 18-20, 2017

Hosted by Universidad de los Hemisferios and Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar Sede Ecuadar in Quito, Ecuador, this conference will focus on “Democracy and Civil Society in Latin America and the Caribbean in a Time of Change”. Paper abstracts are welcome until May 15. Learn More.

PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS

Regional Perspectives on Learning by Doing, edited by Lorlene Hoyt

In what ways can universities around the world mobilize their resources to create more just and prosperous communities, while at the same time educating civic leaders? This collaboration from university professors, community partners, and students looking to inspire higher education reform seeks to answer that question.This new book offers a diverse array of innovative teaching and research strategies from engaged universities. This collection of stories—from Australia, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States—demonstrates how learning-by-doing elevates students’ consciousness and develops their civic capabilities. All registered participants to the upcoming TNLC 2017 will receive a copy of this book on arrival in Xalapa. Learn More.

University Education for Transformative Leadership in Africa Report

In partnership with Mastercard Foundation, the Talloires Network launched the University Education for Transformative Leadership in Africa (UETLA) Faculty Support Grant in 2016. This report presents the participants, activities, and outcomes of the faculty support grant program as well as the successful ingredients of implementing a program to support university faculty and recommendations for the continuation of university support in Africa. Learn More.

Knowledge for Social Change, by Lee Benson, Ira Harkavy, John Puckett, Matthew Hartley, Rita A. Hodges, Francis E. Johnston, and Joann Weeks

This new books argues for and proposes concrete means to radically transform research universities to function as democratic, civic, and community-engaged institutions.