Conference Examines Commitment of Institutions of Higher Learning to Community Engagement
by Jane Todd

Over 125 participants, repre-senting 54 institutions and communities from around the country, participated in the Challenge of Engagement conference in July at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. This was the third annual University- Community Partnership Conference sponsored by the Virginia Tech Service-Learning Center. This year's program focused on examining the challenge of engagement, particularly as it relates to leadership and institutional missions of higher education.

The keynote speaker was Donald Blake, formerly the executive director of Connecticut Campus Compact and vice president for academic affairs at Kentucky State University. Blake opened the conference by sharing 45 years of experience as an educator, corporate executive, administrator, and civil rights activist. His energetic and enlightening presentation was followed by interactive sessions where participants reflected on the meaning of authentic engagement.

Framing key issues for institu-tional leaders, in his keynote address, Stephen Percy presented six promising practices that are essential to higher education's commitment to community engagement. Percy is director of the Milwaukee Idea at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and co-author of the provocative document, Calling the Question: Is Higher Education Ready to Commit to Community Engagement?

Laura Hawthorne, director of University Outreach and special assistant to the provost at the University of Virginia, addresses participants in the breakout session, Are Virginia's Higher Eds Ready to Call the Question, during the conference on the Challenge of Engagement. Jeri Childers, director of Outreach Program Development at Virginia Tech, and Alice Joyner, director of Outreach at Virginia State University, were also co-presenters of the interactive session designed for faculty and administrators from across the commonwealth.

"This year's event seemed to be particularly relevant to conference participants," said Michele James-Deramo, director of the Service-Learning Center and chair of the conference planning committee. "Participants commented on the depth of the conversations and the applicability of the presentations to issues they are facing on their own campuses."

The fourth annual University-Community Partnership Conference, The Community Calls Forth the University, will be held on July 18-20, 2007, at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. For more information, contact James-Deramo at deramo@vt.edu.