Bringing It #104: Associational Relationships, CFP, Student Fellowships, and Summer Institutes
Dear friends,
This issue of Bringing It steps back from our practice of highlighting campus-based innovations to focus instead on our connections with higher education associations. This winter and spring have seen a flurry of activities. David and Paul have had generative conversations with long-time colleagues and new acquaintances from higher education networks, consortia, and organizations. We have shared about the Paradigm Project at organizational meetings and listened to and learned from the good work of others.
Movement building to advance holistic, equitable, and engaged undergraduate education is one key strand of BT2P’s Paradigm Project. We see relationship-building with and among associational friends and allies as foundational to this work. Here are a few recent examples:
David has been active in working with the Association of Governing Boards (the national organization of university and college trustees and board professionals). He serves on AGB’s Council on Equitable Student Success and at the AGB national conference in April, he gave a presentation to the Council on current teaching innovations. He also led a listening session with interested trustees about the Paradigm Project. Engaging both AGB and its members—and listening to their views about the need for systemic change—contributes to the project’s organizing and movement-building.
David has also worked closely with the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the consortium of disciplinary associations in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. ACLS has launched several change-oriented projects, including efforts to encourage equity-mindedness and public engagement in graduate education, tenure and promotion, and academic administration. David has served as a consultant for several projects and took part in a plenary panel on “Leading Change in Academic Norms: Societies, Initiatives, Networks” at ACLS’ recent Annual Meeting. We hope to engage ACLS leaders and institutional networks in the work of the Paradigm Project and to contribute to their change-work.
We have continued building relationships with the Consortium for Life Transformative Education (CLTE), the Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education, and Campus Compact, among others, to explore areas of shared work and mutually beneficial collaborations. CLTE’s focus on programs to support students’ purpose, identity, and agency resonates with BT2P’s own commitments. We look forward to the possibility of lifting up stories of innovation in undergraduate education from higher education institutions connected to the Washington Center. BT2P and Campus Compact have a common interest in integrating civic engagement into campus cultures and priorities.
We will share more examples in the months to come. We warmly welcome connections with other higher education associations. So, please reach out to David [email protected] for conversations. BT2P is also pleased to amplify the good work of our associational connections and collaborators; see below.
Imagining America: CFP and Fellowship Programs
Our friends at Imagining America invite proposals for IA’s 2023 National Gathering, “Radical Reckoning: Invoking the Elements for Collective Change,” October 20-22 in Providence, Rhode Island. The annual gathering brings together a range of participants–public scholars, artists, students, designers, and cultural organizations–for shared learning, inspiration, and collaboration on pressing public issues. The conference theme calls participants to draw upon scholarship and artistic practice to reckon with the legacies of the past while imagining and enacting a more just future.
IA’s National Gatherings are deeply rooted in the local context and communities, and this year is no different. We are delighted that our friends at College Unbound along with AS220 Community Arts, the City of Providence, and a local steering committee will host the event and help curate creative activities and immersive experiences. Proposals are due May 31st.
IA also invites applications from IA member institutions for the 2023-2024 Joy of Giving Something (JGS) undergraduate fellows program and the Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) graduate fellows program. The JGS program supports a cohort of undergraduate students who utilize media and digital photography for social change and to explore as part of a career path. JGS applications are due June 5th. The PAGE program creates a community of graduate students across interdisciplinary lines for shared knowledge production and offers connections to PAGE alumni and the IA network for mentorship, collaboration, and support. PAGE Applications are due June 30th.
Bonner Network: Summit and Summer Institutes
Bobby Hackett, President of the Bonner Foundation, and Scott Myers-Lipton have shared two opportunities to be involved with the Teaching Social Action Initiative, which supports the development of student-led social action campaigns as parts of courses and co-curricular activities. We anticipate that many readers will be inspired by the social action campaigns that will be showcased at the National College Summit on Social Action, Thursday, May 11, 8:00-9:30 pm EST (virtual). Readers who want to learn how to integrate social action campaigns into their own curricular and co-curricular programs are invited to apply for the Summer Institute on Teaching Social Action, June 6-8 (virtual). This is an outstanding (and free) opportunity to learn best practices and be part of a cohort of social change educators. Applications are due May 15th.
Interfaith Leadership Summit
We also want to highlight the important work of our friends at Interfaith America. Registration is now open for the Interfaith Leadership Summit, August 4-6, in Chicago, IL. The Summit supports undergraduate students and educators in gaining skills and perspectives to support religious pluralism and to build connections across lines of religious difference. Interfaith America builds the capacities of leaders for collaborative work in times that often stress polarization and division. Registration closes June 30th.
With gratitude for all that you do,
David, Grace, Paul, and Todd