By A. Wendy Nastasi, Director of Imagining America’s CNY PAGE program. This post first appeared on the Democracy U blog on February 22, 2012.

At Syracuse University, there is a focused effort to embody democratic education through teaching, research, and engaged praxis. The rhetoric of publicly engaged scholarship is communicated through our vision, Scholarship in Action, and we purposefully enact the civic mission of higher education through hiring and admission practices, funded initiatives and within the scope of graduate education and research. Graduate education is an important site for the articulation and development of higher education’s role in participatory democracy because graduate students are the next generation of university professorate, administrators, and community partners.

Last October, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article, titled Syracuse’s Slide, where, among other things, Syracuse University’s commitment to publicly engaged scholarship was criticized as playing a role in lowering standards and reducing the national prestige of our university. This article mobilized graduate students from across campus, galvanizing us to speak back, across disciplinary boundaries, to the unfair depiction of our commitment to the university as a public good. The article deepened our level of solidarity as graduate students, stimulating an urgency about declaring the value of publicly engaged scholarship. Far from a slide, partnering with community stakeholders for the robust and dynamic production of knowledge is indicative of Syracuse’s Rise.

In my role as director for Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life’s Central New York Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE), I e-mailed a copy of the article to PAGE members and suggested we write a collective letter to the editor. The response was overwhelming. Eighty-seven people identifying as “Syracuse’s Engaged Grads” answered the call offering to either help draft or sign the letter. The most remarkable feature of this response was the refusal of members of the Syracuse University graduate community to allow our University’s leadership in the new epistemology of reciprocal knowledge making to be mislabeled as anything but the most rigorous of scholarship. Using our own democratic practices as the foundation of our letter, we argued that:

• The building of knowledge is inseparable from practice;
• The inclusion of traditionally underrepresented students generates increased scholarly rigor by expanding perspectives;
• The dichotomous thinking that separates university and community knowledge is anachronistic;
• Community members are our partners and lived space is our laboratory; and
• Engaged practice informs collective understandings and helps to create coalitions for civic action.

I am only one of the people who contributed to Syracuse’s Rise; it was a truly organic collaborative response to a gross mischaracterization facilitated by a far-reaching vehicle. I am proud to be a graduate student at an institution where our leadership, our professorate, and our student body are working to expand the paradigm of knowledge making to center the public good. When we consider our democracy in the United States today, there is no space for arguing if the University should engage with the public; the time has passed for this question. Rather, it is for us, graduate students, to explore and develop new ways that our learning can cross disciplines and, quite literally, cross the street to respond to the problems and questions of the communities we rise up in. We believe that the strongest, richest, and most impactful knowledge making requires an honored place along the continuum of scholarship for the acknowledgement of diverse scholarly forms and deep engagement.

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A. Wendy Nastasi is a third year doctoral student in the Cultural Foundations of Education Department in the School of Education at Syracuse University. Wendy is director of Imagining America’s CNY PAGE program, and a member of IA’s Publicly Engaged Scholars study research team. As an instructor for SU’s Intergroup Dialogue Program, Wendy co-facilitates SOC/WGS 230: Intergroup Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity. Wendy’s research engages youth participatory action research (YPAR) as a praxis for mobilizing urban high school students’ civic agency while centering youth’s voices and epistemic contributions. You can contact Wendy at either awnastas@syr.edu or at cnypage@listserv.syr.edu.

By Jeremy Lane, Administrative Specialist, Imagining America

There’s quite a lot of activity happening within the Imagining America network. To help keep it all straight, here’s a summary of all the opportunities we’ve recently disseminated.

Request for Proposals – Building the Architecture of Inclusion Through Higher Education: Sustaining and Scaling Full Participation at the Intersection of Public Engagement and Diversity

A joint venture between Imagining America and Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, this project is an attempt to build capacity for linking diversity and public engagement at IA partner institutions across the nation. There will be day-and-a-half long workshop sessions held in New York City (April 26-27, 2012), Los Angeles (September 13-14, 2012), and Michigan (November 2012, dates TBA).  The aims are to help participating institutions realize the goal of integrating engaged scholarship through building inclusive institutions of higher education and to enable IA to advance these goals on a national level, through its work with member institutions, its 2012 conference, and its participation in national policy discussions and publications. The deadline for applications is March 4, 2012. For more information, including application details, CLICK HERE.

Pre-Conference Presidential Roundtable

Syracuse University’s Chancellor Nancy Cantor will be hosting a pre-conference presidential roundtable for presidents and chancellors of Imagining America member campuses on October 4th, 2012, the day before the 2012 IA National Conference in New York City begins. (The Call for Proposals for the national conference will be published in the next couple weeks.) The meeting will focus on expanding public scholarship and research within the context of the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP), a yearlong initiative promoting higher education as an agent of democracy and a public good. For more information, CLICK HERE.

The Joy of Giving Something Photo Student Scholarships

Imagining America and the Joy of Giving Something is again offering a total of ten scholarships of $2,500 each to publicly engaged students of photography/media/visual arts selected from IA member institutions. All nominated students must be facilitating a free community-based photo or media arts workshop with people unlikely to otherwise have access to art-making. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2012. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Central New York PAGE Fellowship & Annual Conference

Imagining America is pleased to announce our Central New York PAGE Fellowship. Publicly Active Graduate Education, PAGE, is IA’s graduate initiative founded in 2003. With the success of PAGE and a commitment to graduate education in Central New York, IA founded a regional PAGE initiative, CNY PAGE, in Fall 2010. Imagining America is now offering a fellowship to one student from each of our regional consortium members. CNY PAGE fellows will receive registration, travel and meal compensation for participating in the 5th annual Engaged Graduate Education conference at Syracuse University on April 20, 2012. Our theme this year is: Engagement Across the Disciplines. For more information about CNY PAGE, the Fellowship, and the Annual Conference this April, CLICK HERE.

So, that’s what’s happening here. For the most up-to-date information about IA events and opportunities, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks!

Imagining America is pleased to re-post this great story about the University of Washington’s certificate program for publicly active graduate students. The program is directed by Bruce Burgett, IA’s Board Chair, and Miriam Bartha, Research Fellow, IA’s Integrated Assessment Initiative.

UW Leads in Connecting Scholarship with Community

By Molly McElroy, News and Information, University of Washington

As just about any academic will tell you, the further you go in your career, the more specific your research expertise becomes. Often, after a time, that narrowing can make the research obscure and relevant only to a subset of academics.

By Jamie Haft, Communications Manager, Imagining America

First, we congratulate Alexander Olson, IA PAGE Fellow, and one of eight recipients of the AAC&U’s 2012 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award! We are currently featuring an interview with Alex on the IA Blog: http://imaginingamerica.org/?p=6985.

For those attending this week’s AAC&U annual meeting, here are some sessions that include IA themes and leaders.

Wed. Jan. 25

• 11am-12pm, “Civic Inquiry and Problem Solving Across General Education and the Major,” with Amy Koritz, Paul Schadewald, et al.
• 11am-12pm, “Defining the Public Purposes of Faculty Scholarship and Teaching,” with Julie Ellison, IA Director Emerita and Co-Principal Investigator of IA’s Tenure Team Initiative on Public Scholarship, et al.

Thurs. Jan. 26

• 8:45-10:15am, the 2012 Cross Award recipients will be acknowledged, including Alex Olson, IA PAGE Fellow. David Scobey, 2011 IA keynote speaker, is one of the featured speakers in “Opening a Democratic Front: Confronting Disparate Conceptions of What Matters in College.”
• 10:30-11:45am, “Cultivating Transformative Leadership for Institutional Citizenship,” with SU’s President Nancy Cantor, Susan Sturm, and George Sanchez, who are all leading IA’s collaborative Linking Diversity and Engagement initiative.
• 10:30-11:45am, “Faculty of the Future: Voices from the Next Generation,” with Alex Olson, IA PAGE Fellow, et al.
• 4:15-5:30pm, “Civic Professionalism and Institutional Change: The Imagining America Engaged Undergraduate Education Collaboratory,” with Amy Koritz, Paul Schadewald, Brigitta Brunner, Darby Ray, and Robin Bachin.

Fri. Jan. 27

• 10:30-11:45am, “Creating A Culture of Democratic Engagement,” with John Saltmarsh, IA Board Member, et al.
• 2:45-4pm, “The American Commonwealth Project: Organizing Around the 150th Anniversary of The Morrill Act,” with Julie Ellison, Cecilia M. Orphan, IA PAGE Fellow, et al.
• 4:15-5:30pm, “Reclaiming A Democratic Vision For College Learning: Why Now?,” with George Sanchez, John Saltmarsh, et al.

Enjoy the annual meeting!

Imagining America congratulates Alexander Olson, IA PAGE Fellow, and one of eight recipients of AAC&U’s 2012 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award. A doctoral candidate in American Culture at the University of Michigan interested in engaged pedagogy, Alex is being recognized for his exemplary promise as a future leader of higher education, his demonstrated commitment to developing academic and civic responsibility in himself and others, and his work’s emphasis on teaching and learning. Please see his bio here.

Next week, Alex and the other Cross Scholars will be acknowledged at the Opening Plenary at the AAC&U’s 2012 Annual Meeting, and will be discussants in the session, “Faculty of the Future: Voices from the Next Generation.”

IA interviewed Alex via e-mail.

IA: Tell us about your interest in non-traditional classroom spaces, your dissertation topic. What sparked it? Would you like to see non-traditional classrooms expand, and if so, where would you like to see them take root, with what populations, and supported by what infrastructures?

Alex Olson: I’ve been interested in non-traditional classroom spaces ever since my undergraduate years at Stanford, which strongly emphasized residential education. I spent all four years in the same residence—Ujamaa House—and I remember being struck by the critical role of this particular space in fostering conversations and experiences that often seemed far more relevant to our lives than what was happening in our classes. At the same time I was learning about environmental history with my thesis advisor Richard White and had access for the first time to new ways of conceptualizing place and space. So there was a synergy that I found very exciting.

At my home institution of the University of Michigan, the Residential College is a great example of a program that integrates curriculum, student life, and public engagement. But I also think we need more radical innovations in response to the fact that, as David Scobey noted in his 2011 IA keynote address in Minneapolis, four-year, full-time, in-residence education is increasingly becoming a luxury good that few can afford. At U-M the percentage of first-year students coming from families making $200,000 or more per year has increased from 14.8% in 1997 to 27.6% in 2010. Until state funding priorities move back in the direction of supporting higher education (and I think advocating for this shift needs to be a major priority), the student loan burden is only going to increase, disproportionately impacting students of color and those who are the first in their families to attend college. (more…)

By Jamie Haft, Communications Manager, Imagining America

Thank you to everyone from Imagining America who attended or watched the live stream of yesterday’s White House event, “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission.”

Here is the event program, as well as the discussion guide prepared for virtual participants.

The event marked the public launch of the American Commonwealth Partnership, which aims to bring together thousands of universities, colleges, community colleges, schools, and other civic partners to promote civic education, civic mission, and civic identity throughout all of education in the U.S.

The AAC&U released a major report on civic learning and democratic engagement, “A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy’s Future.” Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education released a “Road Map” outlining the nine next steps it will take to advance citizenship education for all Americans across the country. In related news, last October, the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools released a report for K-12 schools.

The Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Action Network and The American Commonwealth Partnership collected civic commitments from more than 70 national organizations, local organizations, higher education institutions, scholars, practitioners, and philanthropists, including Imagining America and Syracuse University.

Here are videos of the event.

We invite you to share your reflections in the form of a blog post. We are especially curious to hear how the event resonated for you in the context of animating and strengthening the public and civic purposes of humanities, arts, and design (Imagining America’s mission). Blog posts will appear here and on  DemocracyU’s blog. Contact me at jmhaft@syr.edu. Thank you.

By SU News Services • (315) 443-3784

Chancellor Cantor to moderate Jan. 10 White House panel on public scholarship

Syracuse University will join with the White House Office of Public Engagement, the U.S. Department of Education and other civic and educational groups tomorrow, Jan. 10, for a White House event to publicly launch the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP), a yearlong initiative to promote higher education as an agent of democracy and a force for public good. As part of the launch event, SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor will moderate a panel discussion about promoting and facilitating public scholarship.

The ACP initiative coincides with the 150^th anniversary of the Morrill Act, which established land-grant colleges and universities throughout the United States to promote access to higher education across social classes and equip students with the relevant skills and knowledge to address the important needs of the day.

A broad alliance of educational, civic, philanthropic and business groups, the ACP includes, among others, Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, a national consortium based at SU and dedicated to advancing public scholarship through the humanities, arts and design; the Association of American Colleges and Universities; the American Democracy Project; Campus Compact; and other K-12 schools, colleges and universities. (more…)

By Jan Cohen-Cruz, Director, and Timothy K. Eatman, Research Director, Imagining America

On Tuesday, January 10, from 2-6 p.m. EST, Imagining America and Syracuse University will be part of a White House event to launch the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP), a yearlong initiative to promote higher education as an agent of democracy and a force for public good. The ACP coincides with the 150^th anniversary of the Morrill Act, which established land-grant colleges and universities throughout the U.S. to promote access to higher education across social classes and equip students with the relevant skills and knowledge to address the important needs of the day. For more information about the ACP, see IA Research Director Timothy Eatman’s post on the Imagining America Blog.

The event will be streamed live on the internet on Tuesday, January 10, from 2-6 p.m. EST: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.

The ACP also has an active social media campaign, DemocracyU. All are invited to contribute to their blog (http://democracyu.wordpress.com/), and to interact on Facebook (www.facebook.com/democracyu) and Twitter (@democracyu).

We hope you will consider tuning into this important event. We are honored to be participating in this national effort to promote higher education’s civic mission.

By Anne Valk, Brown University, and Teresa Mangum University of Iowa, co-facilitators of the Working Group, with Rachael Jeffers, Brown University, graduate student assistant

Looking ahead to 2012, IA’s Public Humanities Institutes and Centers Working Group will hold focused discussions and conduct continued inquiry into questions such as:

• How do various public humanities institutes and centers define “public” and how does this definition shape their work?
• How can public humanities institutes and centers better communicate their work to the public, within the humanities disciplines, and to the wider university?
• How can centers and institutes develop and share effective evaluation methods, especially those using qualitative and narrative tools?
• What creative alliances might be forged between college and university centers and institutes and public cultural organizations such as state humanities councils and museums?

Historical Context

In the past decade, the number of humanities centers and institutes at universities across the United States has multiplied exponentially. In the U.S. alone, the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes currently lists 119 members, and these include only those organizations that have elected to join the consortium; it is likely that the number of existing centers is significantly larger. Taking their cue from the success of much respected institutions like the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey (founded in 1930), the National Humanities Center in the Research Triangle of North Carolina (founded in 1978), the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College (now the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, founded in 1978), and the Stanford Center for the Humanities (founded in 1980), university administrators or members of university faculties have directed resources toward creating showcases for humanities research with the hope that these centers will enhance their institutional profile. Nonetheless, these recently formed organizations often have more diffuse or broader missions than their predecessors; must meet greater demands on the part of their constituents, who are themselves facing difficult circumstances in their individual disciplines; and confront much less secure financial backing and funding prospects in launching their programs than established centers and institutes.

Based upon the precedent established by traditional humanities centers, most of the newer initiatives were started with an intended audience of faculty and students at their own university and peer institutions. Only a small number of humanities centers envisioned a larger community component to their programming. However, the creation of Imagining America in 1999 brought increased attention to the necessity of public-directed and -generated activities of humanities centers and institutes.

Group History

In September 2009, a group of leaders from four newly created (or re-envisioned) humanities centers came together to discuss the challenges of meeting the demands of running a fledgling humanities center and the ways in which these institutions might better meet the challenges of serving a university community, engaging public audiences, and acting as a bridge to connect diverse audiences. (more…)

By Kevin Bott, Associate Director, Imagining America

My experience each year at IA’s national conference leaves me pondering many of the questions with which we here in the national office are engaged throughout the year. Following the recent Twin Cities conference, my thoughts had primarily to do with what it means to assert an organizational identity that in addition to the longstanding emphasis on research and professional development now includes “organizing” around public scholarship and civic engagement. What does it mean to be a consortium of colleges and universities that takes seriously the need to include voices and perspectives from beyond higher education in our thoughts and actions? Among other things, I was particularly struck by my conversations with IA’s first cohort of undergraduate fellows, who so strongly resonated with IA’s work.

Planning and preparation for the 2012 national conference in New York City is already in full swing. Over the next several months, I’ll use this blog space to share some brief reflections about the Twin Cities event and prime the pump for NYC 2012. (more…)