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Vol. 38, No. 18 |
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4-7-2004 Conference fuels drive to become standard for outreach and engagementA universitywide conference April 30 will showcase the great strides Ohio State is making toward becoming a premier outreach and engagement model, and provide opportunities to meet with the nation’s leading experts. “Ohio State — the 21st Century Model for Outreach and Engagement” will be presented from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Ohio Union East Ballroom. The conference title is reflective of the Leadership Agenda introduced by President Karen Holbrook for achieving the Academic Plan that challenges Ohio State to become a national model for 21st century outreach and engagement among public universities. Holbrook will outline her vision for outreach and engagement during a 2:45 p.m. general session, and discuss how the university community has set Ohio State on this path. Excellence in Engagement grant awards also will be announced during this session. This is the third such conference to showcase University Outreach and Engagement — the other two being held in November 1997 and April 2001. This year’s event takes the foundation developed and shared at the two earlier conferences, and challenges the Ohio State community to build a new model for the engaged university, said Bobby Moser, vice president for university outreach and executive dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. “Ohio State is well on the road to being a model for a truly engaged 21st century university,” Moser said. “This new model is already being created by some of our campuses’ most innovative faculty and administrators. I am looking forward to learning from these leaders at this conference.” The conference will open at 9:30 a.m. with a panel of university members discussing “What Is In It For Me? The Benefits, Challenges and Possibilities for University/Community Engagement.” “We are excited that this conference will include the first James F. Patterson Land-Grant University Lecture,” Moser said. “Mr. Patterson has seen first-hand how land-grant universities, through their engagement mission, can impact communities. Dr. Firebaugh’s understanding of both the land-grant mission and the potential Ohio State has in this arena makes her the ideal person to kick off this lecture series.” Other key sessions during the conference include: • Karen Bell, dean of the College of the Arts, and John Snyder, dean and director of Ohio State Lima, will present “Seeing the Future: The 21st Century Model for Outreach and Engagement,” from 10:45-11:35 a.m. The discussion will focus on how several university leaders envision outreach and engagement efforts in colleges and departments supporting the university’s leadership agenda and plans for achieving the Academic Plan. • Carole Anderson, vice provost for Academic Administration; Brenda Brueggemann, associate professor of English and coordinator of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies; and Sandra A. Stroot, director of outreach and engagement with the College of Education, will discuss “Promotion, Tenure and Engagement: Making It Work Together,” from 10:45-11:35 a.m. • Lorilee Sandman, associate professor of education at the University of Georgia and co-director of the National Review Board for the Scholarship of Engagement, will present a session on documenting scholarship of engagement, from 12:45-1:35 p.m. • Bob Bringle, director of the Center for Service and Learning at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will present sessions at 10:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. on the role of service learning in university engagement. This will be a true universitywide conference with participants from all aspects of the university, and all types of roles, said Karen Bruns, leader of OSU CARES and a member of the committee that organized the conference. By the end of March, 17 colleges, numerous support units and all the regional campuses had registered. As a key aspect of the Academic Plan, she said the entire university community is involved in outreach and engagement, either through practice or in supporting colleagues who are carrying out this mission. “We realize that at Ohio State we have faculty and staff who are experienced and very knowledgeable about engagement work, and others who are just getting involved,” Bruns said. “This conference is designed to challenge those involved with engagement to enhance their work and those new to engagement to see the potential for Ohio State’s leadership in outreach and engagement, both now and in the future.” Colleagues across campus are inventing new ways for how their discipline can partner with communities. “This conference brings those innovations to light, and can hopefully lead to additional innovations across campus,” Bruns said. The conference is funded through a LINC II grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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