UGA will host the 2010 Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement through Higher Education March 3-5 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel. The conference will focus on ways colleges and universities are addressing local and global problems by engaging students, faculty and community partners in service-learning and outreach partnerships.
The theme for this year’s conference is “People, Place and Partners: Building and Sustaining Engagement in Critical Times.”
“As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, pressing social and economic challenges have brought renewed attention to the importance of volunteerism and service in civic life,” said Shannon Wilder, conference chair and director of UGA’s Office of Service-Learning. “In these critical times, a national call for service is engaging citizens of all ages in creating innovative solutions for recovery.”
The event brings new focus on the potential of service-learning and civic engagement to address local and global problems and to engage students, faculty members and community partners in civic renewal, according to Wilder.
“Along with the growing needs in our communities, colleges and universities are also facing the challenge of building and sustaining engagement initiatives with limited resources,” she said.
The 2010 Gulf-South Summit will bring together national speakers and more than 350 participants for dialogue in a forum for best practices. Speakers include Barbara Jacoby, Senior Scholar for the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Center at the University of Maryland; Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light Institute and co-founder of the HandsOn Network; and Blake Mycoskie, founder and chief shoe giver of TOMS Shoes.
Those interested in attending may pre-register by calling the Georgia Center at (706) 542-2134 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees can register on site the day of the event. The cost is $200 for faculty and staff members and $150 for students and community partners.
