Engagement and Service-Learning Summit set for Feb. 3

The Office of Engagement's annual Engagement and Service-Learning Summit will be held 1-4:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 via Zoom. This summit brings together faculty, staff, students and community partners to discuss best practices in engagement and service-learning, highlight accomplishments and increase collaboration opportunities.

The event will feature interactive tracks, including a track on networking and partnership formation and a track on evaluation and assessment. The event will conclude with a showcase of student posters and community projects in conjunction with networking. Students from across Purdue’s campuses are invited to showcase community engagement projects as part of service-learning courses or engagement activities. Virtual submissions will be accepted as prerecorded posters or digital stories. The top three submissions will win cash prizes of $150, $100, and $50, respectively, and broadcast during the showcase. Students can submit a brief abstract for the showcase when they register for the event. Abstracts are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 24.

The summit also features a fireside chat with Dr. Jerome Adams, Purdue's executive director of health equity initiatives, Distinguished Professor of Practice, and Presidential Fellow. As the 20th U.S. surgeon general and a former member of the president’s coronavirus task force, Adams has been at the forefront of America’s most pressing health challenges. A regular communicator via TV, radio, and in print, Adams is an expert not just in the science, but also in communicating the science to the lay public and making it relevant to various audiences.  

“Pursuit of world-class research and teaching is absolutely necessary, but also absolutely insufficient to drive impact if there is no engagement. Books and articles alone don’t change the world. Bringing that knowledge to people and communities, that’s what changes the world,” Adams says.

There is no cost to attend the summit; however, registration is required. Registration is due by 5 p.m. Feb. 2. To register to attend the summit or present at the showcase and to view the full agenda, visit the summit webpage.

For more information, contact Robert Elliott, lead events planner, at relliot@purdue.edu.

About the Office of Engagement

Since its founding in 2001, the Office of Engagement has been facilitating partnerships between Purdue and communities in service of Purdue’s engagement mission. The office's engagement efforts span the state, nation and globe. The office aims to be the exemplar for faculty recognition and advancement based on the scholarship of engagement as well as for awards for emerging faculty, staff, and community partners’ accomplishments.