Over 500 Participants Attend 7th Annual International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement [10/10/2007]

by Judi Jetson

Several USF faculty presented papers on their engaged research and service learning courses. Two community engagement awards were received by USF participants.

As a way to strengthen local and global engagement initiatives at USF, from Thursday, October 4th until Tuesday, October 9th we welcomed more than 500 faculty, staff and graduate students to Tampa for a series of conferences at the Marriott Waterside.

Many USF faculty presented papers on their engaged research and courses, others attended to learn best practices in engaged scholarship and share ideas with other advocates for community engagement around our state, country and world. Community engagement is poised to be the next major innovation in higher education, and USF is on the leading edge.

On Thursday, October 4th, Florida Campus Compact presented awards recognizing outstanding service and engaged scholarship in Florida colleges and universities. Robin Jones, an Instructor in USF’s Department of Geography, received the Graham-Frey Civic Award recognizing her outstanding contributions to the development of civic learning and engagement in sustaining our participatory democracy. Amy Simon, Director of USF’s Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteerism, received the Community Engagement Educator Award for her contributions to the institutionalization of community engagement, by inspiring a vision for service on the campus and supporting faculty, students, and campus-community partnerships. Faculty, staff and students from twenty-five campuses around Florida attended the award ceremony and heard Senator Bob Graham deliver a stirring address at the statewide conference on October 5th.

Then, the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement began it’s annual meeting and conference on October 6th and registered 425 scholars from across the US and 9 foreign countries for a lively opening reception and poster session at the Florida Aquarium, followed by more than 100 educational sessions on engaged scholarship over the course of the next 3 days. USF President Genshaft spoke for all of when she told the assemblage, “We are so pleased and proud that you decided to hold your 7th Annual Conference in Tampa, and appreciate the inspiration and enthusiasm you have brought to our campus and community for this important work.”