Community Services Program

Civic engagement summit at UMass Dartmouth April 3-11

DARTMOUTH – Paul Loeb, author of Soul of a Citizen, to be featured as policy leaders, faculty, and students gather to discuss the intersection of learning, teaching and service.

UMass Dartmouth faculty, students, staff and public policy leaders will come together April 3-11 for a weeklong summit focusing on the intersection of higher education learning, teaching and community service. The summit will launch a series of “Building New Bridges” events sponsored by the office of Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack and designed to encourage new collaborations between the university and the community.

“The university plays a vital role in the South Coast community – from education to economic development to health care and beyond,” said Political Science Professor Shannon Jenkins, one of the event organizers. “Learning Through Civic Engagement Week seeks to explore how UMass Dartmouth can build on this role through the use of service learning in the classroom and through a focus on increasing civic engagement for the benefit of our students, our campus and our community.”

“We believe the Learning Through Civic Engagement Events will draw attention to the importance of community engagement and will help stakeholders understand service learning as an essential tool in this work,” said Deirdre Healy, who coordinates campus community service activity.

The first day of the Learning Through Civic Engagement summit will feature Paul Loeb, author of the widely acclaimed book, “Soul of a Citizen – Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time,” and a scholar at the Seattle Center for Ethical Leadership. Loeb help kick off the dialogue by participating in a panel with Fall River Mayor Edward Lambert, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang and Dartmouth Executive Secretary Michael Gagne. Loeb will then engage faculty in a conversation about “teaching for engagement” and end the day with a keynote address for the entire campus and community.

Loeb’s most recent book is “The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear” (2004). He has written on social involvement for The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Psychology Today, Utne Reader, Redbook, Parents magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Mother Jones, Salon, the Village Voice, National Catholic Reporter, Chronicle of Higher Education and the International Herald Tribune. He’s been interviewed on CNN, NPR, PBS, C-SPAN, NBC TV, the BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, American Urban Radio and national German and Australian radio.

Loeb has lectured on over 300 college campuses and at numerous national conferences. His January 2002 talk at the annual provost’s conference of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities inspired what is now a 200-campus American Democracy Project.

The summit schedule is as follows:

Monday, April 3 – Learning through Civic Engagement

11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: The Importance of Civic Engagement

Location: Library Browsing Area

Panelists: Michael Gagne – Executive Secretary, Dartmouth

Scott Lang – Mayor, New Bedford

Edward Lambert – Mayor, Fall River

Paul Loeb – author, “Soul of a Citizen”

3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Teaching for Engagement Workshop with Paul Loeb

Location: Sunset Room, Campus Center

7 p.m. – 9 p.m.: Keynote: Paul Loeb author of “Soul of a Citizen”

Location: Group VI Auditorium (153)

Tuesday, April 4 – What is Service Learning?

10 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Service Learning in Business

Location: CCB Room 115

Panelists: Kellyann Berube Kowalski, Matthew Roy, Susanne Scott

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.: What is service learning? How can service learning deepen students’ learning? How can service learning be implemented in your class?

Location: Library Browsing Area

Panelists: Dr. John Reif – Brown Swearer Center

Dr. Karrie Heffernan – Umass Amherest Director Community Based Learning

Dr. John Saltmarsh – Director, New England Resource Center for Higher Education

2 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.: Breakout Sessions: Research on Service Learning, Freshman Experience Courses, Course Construction, facilitated by Drs. Reif, Heffernan, and Saltmarsh

Location: Library Browsing Area, Library Viewing Room

2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.: Breakout Sessions: Research on Service Learning, Freshman Experience Courses, Course Construction, facilitated by Drs. Reif, Heffernan, and Saltmarsh

Location: Library Browsing Area, Library Viewing Room

3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Service Learning in Arts and Sciences

Location: Group 1 374

3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Service Learning in Visual and Performing Arts

Location: TBD

Wednesday, April 5 – The Community in Service Learning

11:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.: Community Needs and Concerns facilitated by Dr. Linda Silka, UMass Lowell

Location: Library Browsing Area

12:45 p.m. – 2 p.m.: Bringing the Clark Experience to the South Coast

Location: Library Browsing Area

2 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Service Learning in Nursing

Location: TBD

Monday April 10 – The Learning in Service Learning

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.: Integrating classroom and community learning: Student experiences

Location: TBD

2 p.m. -3:15 p.m.: Learning through Alternative Break Expriences

Location: TBD

Tuesday, April 11 – Supporting Service Learning: Where do we go from here?

8:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.: Moving Forward: The Service Learning Taskforce Recommendations (Open forum for event participants to provide feedback to Service Learning Task Force)

Location: South Alcove