PEOPLE, PLACE, & PARTNERS: Building and Sustaining Engagement in Critical Times

Deadline for proposal submission is October 19, 2009.

Proposals are now being accepted for the 2010 Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Through Higher Education March 3-5, 2010.

As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, pressing social and economic challenges have brought renewed attention to the importance of volunteerism and service in civic life. In these critical times, a national call for service is engaging citizens of all ages in creating innovative solutions for recovery. This dialogue brings new focus on the potential of service-learning and civic engagement to address local and global problems and to engage students, faculty, and community partners in civic renewal. Along with the growing needs in our communities, colleges and universities are also facing the challenge of building and sustaining engagement initiatives with limited resources. This conflict between crisis and opportunity raises many questions: As engagement comes of age, what role will people, place, and partners play in creating models for service-learning and civic engagement? How will we maintain quality as demand for service opportunities increases and resources tighten? How will place be understood as students and faculty engage in service-learning in both local and global contexts?

Please see the website www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/conferences/gulf_south/ for more details.