June 2012 Newsletter - Talloires Network of Engaged Universities

Mark Gearan Now in its fourth year, the MacJannet Prize annually recognizes exceptional student community engagement initiatives at Talloires Network member universities and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the MacJannet Foundation for being such a vital partner in this initiative. The Foundation provides invaluable financial support and also participates actively in the selection of prize-winners.

I am pleased to congratulate the 2012 winners of the MacJannet Prize. They include:

First place – Community Engagement Programs, Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico);
Second Place – Student RAG Community Service, North West University (South Africa); and
Third Place – PolyU has a Heart, Community Service Learning Program in Sham Shui Po, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (China).

Additionally, three programs received Honorable Mention:

Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment at Brown University (USA);
the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue, Simon Fraser University (Canada); and
UTS Shopfront at the University of Technology, Sydney (Australia).

Each of these innovative civic engagement programs are exemplary models and will surely strengthen public support for the global civic engagement movement in higher education for years to come.

In partnership with the Kettering Foundation, the Talloires Network will co-host a three-day dialogue on the topic of how universities around the world understand and implement their community engagement and democratic missions. The summer workshop entitled “Innovations in Democratic Engagement: Universities and Their Civic Mission around the World” will explore such topics as how service learning is becoming more intentionally geared toward affecting the civic agency of college students, how faculty reward systems can evolve to validate engaged scholarship, and how faculty can play a more active role in politics through public and engaged forms of scholarship. The following leaders in civic engagement are scheduled to participate:

EUROPE

Silvia Arias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

Juliet Millican, Brighton University

LATIN AMERICA

Magdalena Jara, Universidad Católica de Chile

Claudia Mora Motto, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Ernesto Ornelas, Tecnológico de Monterrey

AUSTRALIA

Gary Smith, University of Western Sydney

AFRICA

Alaa Ibrahim, American University of Cairo

Thabu Putu, University of Witwatersrand

Joseph Francis, University of Venda

UNITED STATES

Derek Barker, Kettering Foundation

Lorlene Hoyt, Talloires Network and Tufts University

Mark Wilson, Auburn University

PUERTO RICO

Nyvea Silva Herrera, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón

ASIA

Saran Gill, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Sergey Golubev, The New Eurasia Foundation

Richard Hopper, University of Central Asia

I would also like to draw your attention to this month’s featured interview with Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and active member of the Talloires Network Steering Committee, Sharifah Hapsah Shahabudin. She recently launched AsiaEngage at the National University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. This event coincided with other points of connection between the Talloires Network and visitors from China to the U.S. In April, the Talloires Network secretariat staff met with a small group of visitors from Hong Kong Polytechnic University including Professor Walter Yuen, Vice President for Academic Development; Mrs. Winnie Lee, Section Head, Student Affairs Office, in charge of Service Learning Projects; Dr. Stephen Chan, Special Assistant to Vice President (AD) for Service Learning; and Dr. Grace Ngai, Chair, sub-committee on Service Learning. The group visited other universities in the United States and was eager to learn more about civic engagement from an American perspective.

The Talloires Network, in partnership with the New England Resource Center for Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston, also welcomed Dr. Ma Hok Ka Carol, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy and the Assistant Director in the Office of Service-Learning at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. Dr. Ma is one of the leading experts in Asia promoting service-learning initiatives by setting up the joint Higher Education Network on Service-Learning in Hong Kong. She currently coordinates the Service-Learning Asian Network.

As the Talloires Network continues to evolve during this phase of development, we will resume the monthly newsletter in September 2012. In the meanwhile, keep an eye out for our new web site – in addition to the content on our existing site, new functions and content will be available effective June 15, 2012.

Featured Profile

Sharifah Hapsah Shahabudin: Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and member of the Talloires Network Steering Committee

June signals the fourth installment of our monthly Leaders in the Civic Engagement Movement series. This issue features the Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and active member of the Talloires Network Steering Committee, Sharifah Hapsah Shahabudin. Click here to read the interview.

Announcements

Universities Have a Responsibility to Look After the Well-being of the Planet

“It is time to decolonise our universities and learn from the diverse ecologies of knowledge about how to live sustainably,” notes Dr. Rajesh Tandon from India, a UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education from India. As a contribution to the RIO + 20 United Nations and Global Civil Society conference Sustainability taking place in June in Rio de Janeiro, the Higher Education Treaty Circle and the Horizon 2020 process in Europe, the “Big Tent” Group of regional and global networks of civil society and higher education networks with a total membership of over 5,000 universities and civil society research organizations have released a global communique which states that among other things “Universities have a responsibility to look after the well-being of the planet, not as stand-alone beacons of knowledge, but as places where wisdom of communities, eco-systems and the academy work together in partnerships for a world that is more sustainable and just.” Facilitated the Global Alliance on Community Engaged Research and facilitated by the Living Knowledge Network of Science Shops, the focus of the communique is on how civil society and universities can co-create radically new knowledge together. Canada’s Budd Hall from the University of Victoria says, “This is the first statement agreed upon by so many higher education networks calling for a deep examination of the need to re-examine whose knowledge counts and how we can co-construct new disciplines for a new world.”

“Public Service as Responsible Citizenship” – The Public Service Major at Rutgers University

newark When the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jeresey, began designing an undergraduate program to complement the school’s masters’ and doctoral programs, the chancellor of the university gave the faculty a particular charge: “to come up with a curriculum that really engaged the whole community,” says Sharon Stroye, assistant dean of SPAA. The new program should help students understand their immediate environment and recognize the contributions they could make, and foster an understanding of wider issues happening not just in Newark but around the state, nation, and world.

The faculty ultimately conceived of public service as the organizing principle for the new undergraduate program. The Public Service major, which enrolled its first cohort of students in the fall of 2008, both provides an introduction to the role of the public sector and asks students to investigate broader questions about contemporary social issues. The program’s curriculum combines service learning and internships with academic theory in order to give students a diverse skill set. That’s particularly important given the rapidly changing economy and shifting work patterns students will face, says Kyle Farmbry, director of undergraduate studies in SPAA. “Students aren’t just training to get this degree and dive into a public sector career,” he says. “Students may go on to work in the public sector, or they may work in the private or nonprofit sectors, but they’ll find themselves interacting with all sectors. They have to have an understanding of the language of the three sectors and be able to think fast enough that they can figure out what people want and come up with solutions to the different challenges they’ll face.” To view this article in its entirety, go to AAC&U news.

Study of Economic Crisis’ Impact on Higher Education Policies: Call for Institutional Participants

DIT Researchers at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) are collaborating on a study to determine the impact of the new global economic environment on the roles and responsibilities of higher education institutions, how it is affecting policies, and what structural and or organizational changes are being made. The study will strive to learn how these developments are affecting students and the impact they have had on academic work practices or on disciplinary choices. What effects are these changes having on educational quality, research, and institutional reputation? Interested institutions will be asked to complete a questionnaire and attend a seminar in early 2013 to discuss results. Deadline for joining: 31 July 2012. For more informaion, e-mail Martin Ryan.

Bringing Theory to Practice Project: Request for Proposals

BTTP Proposals are requested for projects that will promote engaged learning, civic development and engagement, and psychosocial well-being of college and university students. We are especially interested in efforts that will enable students to have transformational educational experiences, and proposals for how institutions can transform and sustain their priorities and practices.   The first deadline is June 15 for all categories of proposals. For more information, e-mail Dylan Joyce or Jennifer O’Brien in the Bringing Theory to Practice Project office, or call 202.884.0805.

International Federation of University Women (IFUW): Human Rights; Women; Call for Participation

IFUW IFUW has launched the Conchita Poncini Jimenez Human Rights Fellowship. The competition is open to women scholars and social scientists with a demonstrated commitment to the advancement of women and girls and the attainment of their human rights. Deadline: 30 June 2012.

World Universities Forum (WUF): Awards; Call for Participation

WUF WUF is accepting nominations for its 3 Higher Education Awards (Best Press; Best Policy; and Best Practice). Recipients will be invited to attend the 2013 WUF. Deadline: 30 September 2012.
Spain: Entrepreneurship; Call for Participation

UOberta The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya launched an Ideas Competition on 23 April 2012. It is to run for 17 weeks and is designed to catalyze creativity as an antidote to the crisis. The university is looking to support the values of talent and open collaboration in order to drive entrepreneurship and generate opportunities.

Papers and Publications

The Talloires Network: A Global Coalition of Engaged Universities

Robert M. Hollister, John P. Pollock, Mark Gearan, Janice Reid, Susan Stroud, and Elizabeth Babcock

This article, to be published later this year, describes and analyzes the origins, work to date, and future of the Talloires Network, an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education. Included are reflections on the network’s strategies for advancing civic engagement in higher education globally, with particular attention to both the successes and the limitations of these strategies. The experience of the network to date may help to illuminate opportunities and challenges with respect to international dimensions of university civic engagement.

Higher Education and Civic Engagement: Comparative Perspectives

Lorraine McIlrath, Ann Lyons and Ronaldo Munck

HEandCE_CompPer Higher Education and Civic Engagement provides an original and challenging contribution to contemporary debates on the civic purpose of higher education. It explores teaching and learning, research, and service in a range of international contexts. This book is essential reading for higher education leaders, faculty, administrators, and members of community considering the civic role of higher education in society.

Problematizing Service-Learning: Critical Reflections for Development and Action

Trae Stewart and Nicole Webster

Prob_SL Interest in and research on civic engagement and service-learning have increased exponentially. In this rapid growth, efforts have been made to institutionalize pedagogies of engagement across both K-12 and higher education. As a result, increased positive attention has been complemented equally by well-founded critiques complicating experiential approaches’ claims and questioning if institutional, financial, and philosophical commitment is warranted. A key com-plaint from these critical voices is the tightly woven, protective insular core in the field of service-learning. This claim is not unfounded, nor necessarily bad.

Civic Engagement at the Center: Building Democracy through Integrated Cocurricular and Curricular Experiences

Ariane Hoy and Wayne Meisel

CEatCenter In Civic Engagement at the Center, Hoy and Meisel share with you the model and the lessons learned. First, they present the cornerstones of the Bonner Program’s cocurricular model, including its student development model in depth, followed by the corollary curricular model, including its course components and critical elements. In chapter six, we share some of the relevant findings from an external researcher commissioned to assess the influence over time of the Bonner leadership and scholars programs that have historically been deeply rooted in student affairs and cocurricular programs. Finally, chapter seven offers pragmatic advice from participants in the FIPSE curricular project about how to build similar initiatives on your campus.

Civic Provocations

Donald W. Harward

Civic_Prov Recognizing the urgent need for colleges and universities to address their civic mission and that of higher education, Civic Provocations features accessible, brief essays that consider dimensions of what “centering attention to the civic” might mean and involve. Civic Provocations provokes deepened consideration and campus conversations—both needed for designing actions required to realize a civic mission. The provocations are written by leading civic scholars and practitioners; the topics range from civic learning to action research; from global civics to civility; from curricula to civic pedagogy; and from theory to practices.

Internal Transformation and External Engagement:

Building a New University

Romulo Pinheiro

Oslo The University of Oslo working paper Internal Transformation and External Engagement maps out the structural and cultural changes brought by changes in legal status; the role of the university in the context of its immediate geographic surroundings; and the prevalence of global models for organizing activities, including their impact on external engagement processes.

Upcoming Events

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit our website>>
CLAYSS Annual International Service-Learning Week. Buenos Aires, Argentina, 20-25 August 2012.

CLAYSS CLAYSS, the Latin American Center for Service-Learning, is currently preparing for its annual International Service-Learning Week to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from August 20-25, 2012. This year the activities will include the 2nd Service-Learning Research Symposium as well as the traditional International Service-Learning Conference. The Service-Learning Research Symposium will take place on August 22, 2012 at the University of Buenos Aires. The Symposium is an opportunity to introduce the recent developments in the service-learning field with theoretical reflections on the systematization, evaluation, measurement of impact, and case studies of institutional programs or specific practices of service-learning. The deadline to submit papers for presentation is June 10, 2012. They may be presented in Spanish, Portuguese, or English.  CLAYSS is a primary catalyst and resource on service-learning in Latin America. In addition to extensive participation in the conference by academic and practitioners from across Latin America, each year leaders from several foreign countries attend as well. For more information, contact Paula Basílico, CLAYSS International Relations Assistant, at info@clayss.org

International Association of Universities 14th General Conference: Higher Education and the Global Agenda: Alternative Paths to the Future, Puerto Rico, 27-30 November 2012.

IAU Universities are important repositories of humanity’s hope for a sustainable future. Through teaching/learning, research and community services, their contribution to resolving local and global challenges of poverty and inequality, nutrition, health, environmental degradation and not least, education, is essential. By focusing many projects on issues such as equitable access and success in higher education, the Education for All initiatives, sustainable development, new ways of thinking about internationalization, the social responsibilities of higher education institutions, among others, the IAU is addressing some of the Global Agenda.

Monitoring and Measuring Community Engagement, Roanoke, Virginia (USA), 12-14 September 2012.

Virginia Tech presents Monitoring and Measuring Community Engagement, home of the Engagement Academy for University Leaders, endorsed by AASCU, CUMU, NOSC, CCPH, TRE, NERCHE, Carnegie Foundation, and APLU. This unique executive development program is designed for institutional teams or individuals responsible for developing institutional capacity for monitoring and measuring community engagement activities. Participants will return to their campuses with a specific plan to advance the institutional approach to monitoring and measuring engagement as well as effectively link community engagement to the teaching, research, and service missions of the institution.

CU Expo, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, 12-15 June 2013

Mark your calendars for the Canadian-led international conference on community-university partnerships, called CU Expo, to take place 12-15 June 2013 in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.