FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will celebrate another successful year of campus and community impact at the 10th Annual Robert G. Bringle Civic Engagement Showcase and Symposium, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the IUPUI Campus Center.
This year’s theme is “Healthy and Engaged Communities: Campus and Community Partnerships as Strategies to Support the Well-Being of Indianapolis and Beyond” and features a keynote by Paula Means, program manager at the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute’s Community Health Engagement Program.
“This annual event highlights the excellent work in community engagement by students, staff and faculty done in partnership with over 300 community organizations,” said Julie Hatcher, executive director for the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning. “Through partnerships, ideas are shared, resources are leveraged, and the common good is achieved.” She said she invites the entire campus and community to “come and see, learn from others, celebrate accomplishments, and be inspired as we collectively work to enact Our Commitment to Indiana and Beyond.”
For the first time, IUPUI will host a Community Partner Networking Lunch as part of the symposium. The lunch is an opportunity for community partners and IUPUI faculty and staff to connect their current work; create new or strengthen current partnerships; and share resources around specific community issues.
The symposium workshops will include topics such as assessment, scholarship and research in collaboration with and/or benefiting the community; engaged faculty and staff advancing teaching, learning and program development; and more. These workshops are designed to explore ways to build and enhance campus and community partnerships. The showcase features poster presentations by faculty, staff, students and community members that highlight course-related accomplishments and community projects.
The event also celebrates the 2014 recipients of the William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion. This award recognizes graduating students who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to their communities over the course of their academic careers. This year, 34 outstanding IUPUI students from 12 schools will be awarded this distinction.
The Civic Engagement Showcase and Symposium is named in honor of Robert G. Bringle, an internationally known leader in the field of service learning. He created a lasting impact on campus as the first executive director of the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning and as a Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology and Philanthropic Studies.
The Center for Service and Learning creates programming to involve students, faculty and staff in educationally meaningful service activities that mutually benefit the campus and community. Since opening in 1993, the center has gained national recognition for its commitment to and scholarship on service learning and civic engagement. IUPUI has once again been named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its commitment to volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.
There is no cost to attend this event, however, the Center for Service and Learning requests that attendees RSVP. For information regarding the 2014 Bringle Civic Engagement Showcase and Symposium, contact Mansi R. Singh, communications specialist, at patelm@iupui.edu, or visit the event website at go.iu.edu/bringle-cess.