Feb. 6, 2019 • by Sue Postema Scheeres

CU Boulder faculty, staff and students who do community-engaged scholarship are encouraged to submit proposals by March 15 for the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC)’s fall conference in Denver and Boulder, and may be eligible for campus funding.

This annual conference will be held October 8 and 9 in Denver, with pre-conference workshops scheduled for October 6 and 7. CU Boulder will host the Outreach and Engagement Practitioners Network’s pre-conference workshop on campus in Boulder.

Titled “Deepening Our Roots: Advancing Community Engagement in Higher Education,” the conference will look back at the seminal Kellogg Commission report that called public higher education institutions to “return to their roots” of serving the community and nation. Conference participants also will share insights into current engagement theories and practices and provide perspectives on the future of engagement with communities.

CU Boulder is a member of ESC, a leading association that brings together academic institutions to build strong university-community partnerships.

“Having this conference in our own backyard will be an excellent opportunity for CU Boulder faculty, staff and students to share their exemplary outreach and engagement work and to network with a national group of outreach scholars,” said David Meens, director of the Office for Outreach and Engagement.

“We’re also very excited that our campus’ Outreach and Engagement Professionals Network will host a pre-conference workshop, which will bring together professionals who manage the day-to-day operations for outreach programs and community partnerships,” he said.

Anyone interested in learning more about approaches to community-based research or who have questions about preparing a proposal are invited to attend “Frameworks for Community-Engaged Scholarship”  hosted by the office, or to contact office staff for assistance or collaboration ideas. Those who have proposals accepted will be eligible to apply for conference registration fees through the office.

Individual or group proposals can be submitted as a symposium, a poster roundtable or a workshop on a variety of topics, including:
    •    Engaging Students, Faculty, and Communities in New and Different Ways
    •    New Partnership Models, Practices, and Approaches to Solving Problems
    •    Innovative Collaborations with Minority Serving Institutions
    •    Measuring and Communicating Institutional and Broader Societal Impacts  
    •    New Funding Models for Community Engagement

Questions? Contact the Office for Outreach and Engagement.