We believe the world will improve if volunteering, philanthropy and community engagement is social, beneficial and impactful.
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What an inspiring weekend at #SLCE2026 in Washington, DC!
Grateful to @TransformMidA, @AmericanU (AU), and AU Center for Leadership & Community Engagement for bringing together educators, students, and community partners around this year’s theme: Co-Creating Change: Collaborative Community Partnerships.
We’re grateful to support and sponsor this gathering and to see fellow campus partners and sponsors like @carrollcc and AU D.C. Community Impact Scholars, investing in the future of service-learning and civic engagement.
Loved learning from Natalie Hopkinson about her work with Ronald Moten to create The Go-Go Museum & Cafe and the story of Go-Go becoming the Official Music of Washington, DC. A powerful reminder of how culture, identity, and community voices shape civic life and belonging right here in the District! @washingtondc @DCGovWeb
Also enjoyed Pathways to Partnership: Cultivating Collaborations through Programming with Shannon Cheek and Sha-Nel Henderson, and Sharing Our Locations: Designing Place-Based Learning Experiences that Deepen Community Engagement with Amanda Harrison and Amanda Choutka of @AmericanU. Both offered valuable perspectives on building meaningful connections between campuses and communities.
The poster sessions were another highlight, showcasing the thoughtful research, creative ideas, and community-engaged work of students and faculty advancing service-learning and civic engagement.
One of the best parts of conferences is the people! So great connecting with students from @JohnsHopkins @jhusource and fellow changemakers, including Madeline Yates, Nicki Fiocco, Saagar Gupta, Bridget Trogden, Jennifer Domagal-Goldman @civicnation, Deon Avery, and so many more!
At @GivePulse, we believe lasting impact comes from building relationships, creating opportunities for students to learn alongside communities, and giving institutions and partners the infrastructure to collaborate more effectively.
Here's to continuing to co-create change, strengthen partnerships, and celebrate the people and places that make our communities thrive!
#WashingtonDC #CommunityEngagement #ServiceLearning #CivicEngagement #ExperientialLearning #PlaceBasedLearning #CommunityPartnerships #SocialImpact #VolunteerEngagement #VolunteerManagement
ALT Collage of wonderful moments at the 2026 SLCE conference!
ALT Collage of wonderful moments at the 2026 SLCE conference!
ALT Group picture of George and students from various U.S colleges.
From meaningful conversations to bold ideas, what a way to close out @univofdayton-Fitz Center’s annual Imagining Community Symposium!
This morning, we jumped right into sessions!
The State of Black Dayton Report — Resilience and Renewal: Charting the Future for Black Dayton
Together, we discussed actionable steps to address findings from @MVUL1’s State of Black Dayton Report over the next 90 days.
Plenary Session — Engaging Dayton Youth in Shaping the World They Want to Live in Today
Connected with local leaders passionate about empowering young people to shape their communities.
Mock Congress With Teeth: Going From Practice to Policy Victories
An inspiring session led by youth from Meadowdale CTC, demonstrating the power of young people to turn ideas into action.
Our Voices, Our Rights, Our Future: A Community Working Session & Conversation
Identified actionable next steps inspired by @duhrmovement’s Community Collaborative Report.
Facilitating Through Friction: Navigating Resistance to Sustain Civic Hope
Explored practical ways to navigate resistance and foster healthy, constructive dialogue.
The day wrapped up with a truly inspiring keynote session given by, interdisciplinary scholar and practitioner of deliberative democracy, civic education, and group communication, Dr. @timothyjshaffer. Shaffer provided us with actionable insights on dealing with differences, effective dialogue, democracy and the importance of creating and maintaining strong social ties to build the beautiful society we all would like to live in.
At GivePulse, we’re proud to be part of spaces like these, where community leaders, educators, youth, and changemakers come together to imagine what’s possible and turn shared ideas into action. We’re grateful for our continued collaboration with the Fitz Center at the University of Dayton and @DUHRmovement, and look forward to building on this work together to strengthen civic engagement, foster belonging, and create lasting community impact.
Leaving the Imagining Community Symposium with renewed hope and a vision for what’s possible.
#CivicHope #CommunityEngagement #Belonging #CivicEducation #DeliberativeDemocracy #SocialTies #ImaginingCommunity #GivePulse
ALT Imagining Communities Symposium Sessions!
ALT Imagining Communities Symposium Sessions!
Two days at @texasvmc #TVMC2026 brought big energy, real empathy, and so many meaningful connections!
This year’s theme, Bridges Beyond Boundaries, showed up in every room, and one message kept rising to the top: volunteerism works best when we do it together.
Day 1 started by stepping into someone else’s shoes with @Vol_Now’s new immersive learning tool, The Impact Grid, exploring the perspectives of Opportunity Youth and the organizations that serve them. Cimajie Best’s cross-sector session challenged us to look beyond our own lane: build bridges, ask for help, and lean into collaboration.
A favorite moment? At TVMC’s first-ever Youth Track, a high school student we worked with during the Impact Grid simulation stopped by to learn about GivePulse and explore volunteer and internship possibilities. That’s the future of this work!
Day 2 brought Nikki Jordan’s “Built in 60 Seconds” session on the power of active listening, keynote speaker Josh Hart, Shelby Brandt shared how @spcaoftexas and @uplifteducation built an equitable youth workforce pipeline together, and our very own Lindsey Payne presented From Signing Up to Showing Up: Making Volunteering Accessible!
Grateful to @Vol_Now for presenting, @UTDallasAlumni and @UT_Dallas for hosting, Lyda Hill Philanthropies for supporting the Youth Track, and the @texasvmc Planning Committee.
GivePulse is proud to show up for the volunteer leaders who power our communities. 💙
#TVMC #TVMC2027 #VolunteerPower #VolunteerManagement #Volunteerism #CommunityEngagement #Nonprofit #CommunityImpact @CityOfDallas @visit_dallas
ALT GivePulse team member, Lindsey, on stage at TVMC presenting a workshop on creating accessible volunteer opportunities
ALT GivePulse team member, Sophia, at the GivePulse booth talking to attendees
ALT Lindsey at the GivePulse booth talking to a student about the GivePulse platform to discover volunteer opportunities in their area
ALT Four people on stage for a discussion at TVMC
What a day it was at @univofdayton @udfclc’s annual Imagining Community Symposium!
This year’s theme, Civic Hope, kicked off with an inspiring message from Dayton Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss (@turnersloss): Hope is a decision!
Hope isn’t just an optimistic feeling. It’s a choice that calls us to action, to imagine what’s possible, and to build a better future together. Even when the work feels heavy, hope is essential to our collective future.
The afternoon was filled with reconnecting with friends and colleagues, thought-provoking conversations about civic hope and belonging, and inspiring sessions exploring how we turn imagination into action.
Every session was incredible, but these standouts truly made a lasting impression on us:
- If This World Were Mine: Moral Courage as a Form of Radical Imagination, believing in and building what doesn’t yet exist.
- The Belonging Project- Performance art by 2025 Poet Laureate for the @cityofdayton, Sierra Leone, a multidisciplinary writer, playwright, and teaching artist who bridges performing arts and social discourse.
- The Tavern, the Campfire and the City: Tabletop Roleplaying Games and the Practice of Belonging, a fun Dungeons & Dragons-themed game teaching belonging.
- You Can Just Do Stuff: Hope as a Practice, Not a Feeling.
- Addressing Barriers to Health Equity Through Urban Green Space Visitation Patterns and Accessibility Among Marginalized Communities.
We left reminded that hope is something we practice, belonging is something we build, and civic change begins with action.
Excited to keep this momentum going and see where these ideas take us today!
#CivicHope #CommunityEngagement #Belonging #CivicEngagement #GivePulse #PublicGood #EngagedScholarship
ALT Picture of GivePulse team member, Ndeye, at the University of Dayton with a colleague.
ALT Two images showing a group of people sitting in front of an audience with images projected behind them
ALT Image collage of sessions throughout the day on addressing barriers to health equity, and more.
Day 2 at #TACUSPA2026 brought big ideas, bold conversations, and incredible connections!
From building stronger intergenerational teams to reimagining career readiness, leveraging AI and leading through change, one theme kept rising to the top: people are at the heart of everything we do in higher education.
Dr. Justin McLaughlin challenged us to replace assumptions with curiosity and see generational differences as opportunities for collaboration. Other sessions explored how intentional technology, meaningful reflection, and competency-based learning strengthen career readiness, and how making the hidden curriculum visible helps first-generation students thrive.
We also dug into AI with purpose: streamlining administrative work so student affairs professionals have more time for what matters most, connecting with students.
Dr. Keith Edwards and the Student Affairs NOW panel reminded us that leadership isn’t a title. It’s about building trust, embracing change, and creating opportunities for others to grow.
Congratulations to this year’s award recipients!
- Outstanding New Professional Award: Julian Samarripas, @Trinity_U
- Mid-Level Student Affairs Professional Award: Dr. La’Cresha Moore, @unthealth
- Dissertation of the Year Award: Dr. Shanté Hearst, @tamu
- Faculty Member of the Year Award: Dr. Gabriela Silvestre, @samhoustonstate
- Dr. Adam Peck Research Development Grant: Molly Crespo, @lamaruniversity
- James E. Caswell Distinguished Service Award: Dr. Daniel Maxwell
We also celebrated the Thomas Moorman Fellows, graduate scholarship recipients, and innovative research advancing student success, experiential learning, and career readiness.
Dr. Maxwell's reflections on nearly four decades in student affairs offered a powerful reminder that our greatest impact isn't measured by awards, but by the lives we touch, the relationships we build, and the opportunities we create for others.
It was great to spend more time with Kim and Texas A&M Community Engagement, including the newly formed #AggielandServes Ambassadors led by student leaders Ella Claire and Tanya. Gig ’em, Aggies! We’re looking forward to partnering with, volunteering with, and serving alongside @tamu, @cityofcs, @CityofBryan, and the broader Brazos County community.
Plus, we got the chance to catch up with @TACUSPA leaders Shelby Hearn and Dr. Lacey Folsom, and close the day with food and fellowship at the President’s Reception, hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at Texas A&M.
Our biggest takeaway? Technology can help us scale our work, but it’s the relationships, experiences, and opportunities we create that drive meaningful impact. We’re proud to be part of a community committed to engagement, belonging, and student success.
At GivePulse, we're energized by the incredible work happening across campuses and proud to be part of a community committed to engagement, belonging, and student success.
Here's to more learning, collaboration, and turning great ideas into action!
#TACUSPA #GivePulse #StudentAffairs #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #ExperientialLearning #CommunityEngagement
ALT Selfie of George, Kim, and the Aggieland Serves GivePulse Ambassadors!
ALT Picture of two colleagues, friends and leaders at tacuspa, Shelby Hearn and Dr. Lacey Folsom
ALT Selfie of Tiff and Heriberto!
ALT TACUSPA award recipients on stage posing for a picture
Day 1 of #TACUSPA2026 brought the connections, inspiration, and Aggie spirit!
Our day began with campus and community partnerships. We visited Kim Scott and Charles Carlson at Texas A&M Community Engagement and @TAMU, then joined an already scheduled GivePulse Regional Growth Lab meeting with a few members of our team about our ongoing work supporting @VisitCSTX, @CityofBryan, and the broader @BrazosCountyTX community. When student affairs, campus engagement, and community partnerships work together, campus priorities and local needs can meet in powerful ways. That's the work we love to support.
Then it was on to the conference. Great fellowship and time with so many wonderful people across @TACUSPA!
A special shoutout to just a few of the friends and colleagues we spent time with:
- Shelby Hearn, Board President, GCLL, @AggiesByTheSea
- Lisa, @UIWcampusengage @uiwcardinals
- LT and Jessica, @UTSAengaged @UTSA
- Heriberto and Nadia, @EPCCCampusLife @EPCCNews
- Matt, @MSUTexas
- Becky, @utrgv
These are just a few of the many great people we got the chance to connect with. Thank you to everyone who has made this conference so meaningful!
Thank you to College Station for the warm welcome, and to the Texas A&M Yell Leaders for sharing Aggie traditions and teaching us some of Texas A&M's hallmark yells. The energy, hospitality, and sense of belonging are what make gatherings like this so memorable.
Dr. Kim E. Dooley (@TAMU) opened the conference with a keynote on leading with courage and authenticity. Her takeaway: be willing, lead with courage, and live with authenticity. It's a message that speaks to showing up for students, colleagues, and communities.
Inspiration is just the beginning. Real leadership happens when we take what we've learned, bring it back to our campuses and communities, and turn it into action.
At GivePulse, we're especially energized by the shared commitment to connecting campuses, students, and communities through meaningful engagement.
Thank you, TACUSPA! 💙
#TACUSPA2026 #TACUSPA #StudentAffairs #NASPA #HigherEd #StudentEngagement #CommunityEngagement #ServiceLearning #PublicService #Volunteerism #CampusCommunityPartnerships #Aggies #CollegeStation
ALT Group selfie with George, Kim, and Charles with members of the GivePulse team on a video call.
ALT Two group pictures with friends and colleagues at TACUSPA
ALT Two group pictures with friends and colleagues at TACUSPA
ALT Left: George standing in front of a staircase holding TAMU logo magnets. Right: Yell Leaders showing attendees some of the Texas A&M's hallmark yells!
From wrapping up #IARSLCE2026 in New Orleans to joining the student affairs community with @tacuspa today!
Yesterday was a great final day filled with thought-provoking research, big ideas, and meaningful fellowship.
So much research and ideas moving our field forward include (here are a few we hopped in on):
- AI for Good? Dan Richard (@uofnorthflorida) explored data science and AI for social good, raising an important question: how do we ensure there's more good than bad?
- Student Group Composition in Service-Learning: Shuheng Li (@hongkongpolyu-PolyU Service Learning) explored group dynamics, prompting further questions about how they shape student learning and teaching.
- Building Collective Research Infrastructure: Drew Pearl (@KState), Elaine Ward (@merrimack), and Emily Janke (@uncg) explored open data, collaborative coding, and generative AI. How do we preserve the legacy of past work while building lasting infrastructure for future generations?
- Understanding Student Reflection: Rina Camus and Dawit Debesai (@hongkongpolyu- PolyU Service Learning) presented a taxonomy of student reflection.
Closing with courage and conviction
Dr. Rajesh Tandon joined @IARSLCE Board Chair Dr. Stacey Muse for a closing fireside chat, leaving us with a powerful reminder: “Stay the course... faster, stronger, and with greater courage.” Thank you to the conference hosts and partners, including @tulanecps, @loyola_nola, @CBGLCollab, M-A Service Learning Service, @uofsandiego, and @givepulse, for supporting this work!
And... the big news... see you all in Hong Kong for #IARSLCE2027!
Excited that @hongkongpolyu will host next year's conference in partnership with the Service-Learning Asia Network and the Cross-Strait, Hong Kong and Macau Service-Learning Education Network.
🤝 Grateful for more fellowship with Tim Eatman @rutgers_camden (rocking our GivePulse tee) with so many wonderful colleagues.
And now, on to #TACUSPA2026!
Already connecting with @tacuspa and excited for #TACUSPA2026, hosted by @tamu and @tamudsa alongside @CityofCS. Looking forward to connecting with the student affairs community and continuing to build bridges across higher education!
#IARSLCE2026 #IARSLCE2027 #TACUSPA2026 #ServiceLearning #CommunityEngagement #CommunityEngagedScholarship #EngagedScholarship #HigherEd #StudentAffairs #AIforGood #StudentLearning #Reflection #CampusCommunityPartnerships #SocialImpact #HongKong #TexasAM #Aggies
ALT George Luc at IARSLCE!
ALT Dr. Rajesh Tandon joined IARSLCE Board Chair Dr. Stacey Muse for a closing fireside chat.
ALT The GivePulse team connecting with the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators team!
Day 2 at #IARSLCE2026 in New Orleans! ⚜️💜
One of the best parts of conferences like this is making space not just for research and sessions, but also for the conversations and relationships that move our field forward.
A little New Orleans in the middle of the day
Enjoyed a beautiful walk along St. Charles Avenue with Tim Eatman @rutgers_camden and Di Hornby @Rhodes_Uni, taking in the stunning historic mansions, breaking bread, and talking about the future and possibilities of community engagement. Sometimes the conversations outside the conference room are just as meaningful as the ones inside.
Research, practice, and new perspectives:
Some great scholarship and conversations throughout the day, including: @NIUlive's “Gatekeepers and Change Agents: Faculty Perspectives on Advancing Community-Engaged Scholarship in Promotion and Tenure,” presented by Ben Creed and Alexios Rosario-Moore.
Two thought provoking workshops:
“Advancing Research on Assessing and Enhancing Community Engagement Partnership Quality,” with Robert Bringle, Patti Clayton, and Lori Kniffin @forthaysstate. An important conversation about how we assess the quality of our partnerships and continue strengthening the work we do together.
Engaging Equity-Centered Teaching, Partnerships, and Scholarship: Audacious SLCE Strategies for Justice, Solidarity, and Integrity in Authoritarian Times, Christine Cress @psucollegeofed @Portland_State
Dissertation Dish Special Session: Our own Emmanuel Jeje @kstatessl @KState shared “Participatory Mapping as a Tool for Social Change: A Tale of Community Development Efforts in Northeast Kansas and Western Guatemala.” Great to see his research and community-centered work featured through this special session with @iarslce, Lead California, and @givepulse!
Posters, fellowship, and community
The poster sessions offered even more opportunities to learn from emerging research, exchange ideas, and connect with colleagues from across institutions and around the world.
Grateful for the people who continue to challenge our thinking, share their work, and remind us that community engagement is ultimately about relationships, reciprocity, and creating impact together.
Thank you to the conference hosts and partners, including @tulanecps, @loyola_nola, @cbglcollaborative, M-A Service Learning Service, @uofsandiego, and @givepulse, for bringing this community together.
One more day to go! Looking forward to tomorrow's conversations, connections, and ideas to carry home.
#CommunityEngagement #CommunityEngagedScholarship #ServiceLearning #EngagedScholarship #CivicEngagement #FacultyDevelopment #PromotionAndTenure #CommunityPartnerships #ParticipatoryMapping #SocialChange #Research #PublicScholarship #SocialImpact
ALT George breaking bread with fellow friends and colleagues.
ALT Collage of George breaking bread with fellow friends and colleagues & being in the IARSLCE space.
ALT Collage of IARSLCE sessions and George with friends/colleagues.
ALT IARSLCE sessions.
Sunday officially kicked off #IARSLCE2026 in New Orleans! ⚜️💜
🏆 Celebrating this year's awardees
So glad we could capture a few moments celebrating this year's honorees and reconnecting with the OGs who helped shape service-learning and community engagement, alongside the next generation of leaders and fellow @iarslce board members.
Congratulations to everyone recognized!
Distinguished Career: Michael Rios @ucdavis
Early Career: Dr. Lori E. Kniffin @forthaysstate; Honorable Mention: Dr. Simone Domingue @Tulane
Dissertation: Matia Flores @ucsh_oficial; Honorable Mention: Dr. Emmanuel Jeje @Kstate, who will share his work through Dissertation Dish with @iarslce, Lead California, and @givepulse
Community Outcomes & Impact: @HumansAbundance, represented by Daniel Bryan
Publication of the Year: Local Organic Food Rhetorics and Community Writing for Impact by Dr. Veronica House @BostonCollege
Global Equity in SLCE: Collaborative Badlands @NCKU_official
Public Scholarship: Dr. Aanmona Priyadarshini @SMU
and Dr. Gabrielle Rosamond Elizabeth Walcott-Bedeau @stgeorgesu
As for the rest of the day... Our pre-conference session earlier in the morning explored AI's potential to support campus-community partnerships, what it cannot do, and how we can bridge the digital divide rather than deepen it.
It followed with a powerful keynote to kick things off... Dr. Anneliese Singh, Chief Diversity Officer at @Tulane, opened the conference with “The Fierce Urgency of Connection: Strengthening Community Engagement Through Trust, Dialogue, and Collaboration.” From Bulbancha, the Indigenous name for New Orleans, to the legacies of Sri Aurobindo and Rosa Parks, her message was clear: universities belong to their communities. And what better metaphor for this work than New Orleans gumbo? Everyone brings something to the pot. We need to make room for student imagination, show up for one another, and create something meaningful together. Let's make gumbo! 🍲
Great to have stopped by to see engaged sessions by Lovelle McMichael and Allison Walker (@WakeForest ,@communitywfu, @ncatsuaggies) explore civic participation and democratic imagination, and Stephen Chan (Poly U Service Learning, @hongkongpolyu) discuss service-learning as balance across multiple dimensions.
Also grateful for time with so many colleagues, friends and supporters including Andy- M-A Service Learning Service and special shoutouts to Chris The Mulvaney Center for Community Awareness and Social Action and @uofsandiego for a happy birthday! 🎂
Beyond the sessions and awards, it's the relationships across generations, institutions, and borders that make this community special. Grateful to everyone who continues to build bridges between campuses and communities.
Thank you to our conference sponsors and partners, including @tulanecps, @loyola_nola, @CBGLCollab, M-A Service Learning Service, @uofsandiego, and @givepulse, for helping bring everyone together.
Looking forward to continuing with Monday's sessions, roundtables, research, and more fellowship. So much to learn and build together! 💜⚜️
#CommunityEngagement #Research #ServiceLearning #EngagedScholarship #CivicEngagement #Volunteerism #SocialImpact #CommunityPartnerships #EpistemicJustice #SocialImpact #AIinEducation #PublicEngagement
ALT Group photo of IARSLCE board members and award recipients.
ALT Group picture of the IARSLCE 2026 Awards and Recognitions recipients standing on stage
ALT Top left: Group picture of two people sanding and holding a hat. Bottom left: Presentation on stage about 10 ingredients for the fierce urgency of connection. Right: Group picture of ten people standing around a table.
ALT Four images from presentations at IARSLCE 2026
What a Saturday in New Orleans! ️⚜️☕🎷
A full day of fellowship, community, and meaningful connections with fellow @iarslce board members, colleagues, and friends as we get ready for the conference kicking off this morning! #IARSLCE2026 ️
☕ Started yesterday morning at Café du Monde with fellow IARSLCE board members, catching up and enjoying a little New Orleans tradition before a busy day ahead.
Fortunate to follow The Mulvaney Center for Community Awareness and Social Action- @uofsandiego and visit their amazing partners at Community Book Center and @tbs_nola for Their 10th Anniversary and Grand Opening Celebration in the historic #7thWard! Such a powerful milestone celebrating Black culture, creativity, community, and the work of building spaces with and for communities. Congratulations to everyone who made this vision a reality! #BlackCulture
Continued the fellowship over dinner at Parkway Bakery & Tavern, bringing together board members, colleagues, and friends for great food and even better conversations as we prepared for the conference. And the fellowship continued well into the evening! It was wonderful to spend more time with so many friends and colleagues and to host Dr. Rajesh Tandon. Beyond the laughs, it was a great opportunity to dive deeper into @UNESCOchairCBR and the @unesco UNITWIN Network on Education, Epistemic Justice and the Knowledge Commons (EpiNet), exploring how we recognize, share, and advance knowledge across communities as part of the broader #FuturesOfEducation conversation. Looking forward to hearing his keynote over the next few days and continuing these important conversations with our IARSLCE community!
Grateful for the people who make this community so special and for the many partnerships bringing us together across institutions, organizations, and communities.
As GivePulse joins @Tulane, @loyola_nola, @CBGLCollab, The Mulvaney Center for Community Awareness and Social Action, and @uofsandiego in supporting #IARSLCE2026, We're excited for the conversations, learning, and collaborations ahead.
Here’s to a great conference kickoff, reconnecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and continuing to build bridges between campuses and communities! 💜
#CommunityEngagement #ServiceLearning #EngagedScholarship #CivicEngagement #Volunteerism #SocialImpact #CommunityPartnerships #EpistemicJustice #KnowledgeCommons #EpiNet
ALT Collage of George hanging out in New Orleans!
ALT Collage of George hanging out in New Orleans!
Hello, New Orleans! ⚜️
Excited to be in the @cityofnola visiting @Tulane and the Center for Public Service @tulanecps ahead of #IARSLCE2026! Always grateful for opportunities to connect with campuses and community leaders advancing service-learning, community engagement, and social impact.
A big thank you to Maurice @tulanecps for showing us around Tulane and introducing us to Typhanie @loyola_nola. Grateful to both Tulane and Loyola University New Orleans for hosting this year’s conference and bringing our community together in this wonderful city!
Grateful to have GivePulse sponsoring #IARSLCE2026 alongside our university hosts, @Tulane and @loyola_nola, and fellow supporters @CBGLCollab, M-A Service Learning Center, and @uofsandiego. It’s wonderful to see so many organizations and institutions come together to advance community engagement and service-learning!
Also fortunate to spend time with so many wonderful folks from @catholichighered, @clayssdigital, and @uniservitate. We're especially glad to be able to capture a few moments celebrating with some of this year’s Uniservitate Award honorees!
🏆 First Prize: Congratulations to The Mulvaney Center for Community Awareness and Social Action and @usandiego for the Youth Transition Campus Restorative Justice Fitness Program! Shoutouts to Chris and John for their leadership in the field and so fortunate to celebrate this recognition with them!
👏 Honourable Mention: Congratulations to @DePaulSteans and @depaulu for their Quality Institutional Service-Learning Program! Grateful to also spend time with Howard and Monica and share in celebrating their work too!
Congratulations to both teams and everyone working to advance service-learning and community engagement in Catholic higher education!
And there’s nothing like bringing this larger community of changemakers together to reconnect with old friends, make new connections, and get energized for the conversations ahead. A great time hanging out with @thesoulrebels at @dbaneworleans as we get ready for the weekend!
Looking forward to learning, sharing ideas, and continuing to build bridges between campuses and communities. Thanks to everyone helping bring this community together, and to New Orleans for the warm welcome! 💜
#IARSLCE2026 #PublicEngagement #EngagedScholarship #ServiceLearning #CommunityEngagement #SocialTransformation #SocialImpact #CommunityEngagedLearning #Volunteerism #PublicService #Research @visitneworleans
ALT George visiting Tulane's Center for Public Service.
ALT George celebrating with some of this year’s Uniservitate Award honorees!
ALT Collage of George with friends and colleagues in New Orleans!
ALT George out with friends/colleagues!
It’s a wrap for @EngageSchlrship #26ESC in Knoxville! Huge thanks to @UTKnoxville and @utkcse for hosting an incredible event, and we are already looking forward to #27ESC #ESC2027 in @CityMinneapolis, hosted by @UMNews!
Our team loved connecting with partners and seeing how institutions across the country are harnessing technology, data, and community relationships to deepen public scholarship.
Here are a few major highlights from #ESC2026:
- A powerful plenary on "Data with Purpose: Understanding and Advancing Community Engagement" facilitated by Susan McCracken (@etsu) alongside community engagement leaders Javiette Samuel (@UTKnoxville), Lina Dostilio (@pitttweet / @PittServes), and Tania Mitchell (@UofMaryland).
Session Spotlights:
- Stacy Lightfoot (@UTChattanooga) sharing vital insights on navigating Carnegie Community Engagement Re-Classification (@carnegiefdn @uofsandiego @ACEducation).
- Tammy Garland (@UTChattanooga) presenting on building interdisciplinary minors for collaborative community engagement.
2026 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Awardees & C. Peter Magrath Award Finalists:
🎉 Congratulations to all the awardees recognized by ESC, @APLU_News, and committee teams!
∙ North Central: Michigan State University — Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health in Flint, Michigan: A Partnership Between the Flint Community and Michigan (@michiganstateu @MSUPubHealth @msu_cced)
∙ West: University of Colorado Boulder — Youth Violence Prevention Center - Denver (@CUBoulder @CUOutreach)
∙ South: University of Louisville — Trauma Resilient Communities Project (@uofl @UofLEngaged)
∙ Northeast: Virginia Tech — Translating Impact: The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab Model for Public Safety (@virginia_tech @VTHelmetRatings)
Exemplary Projects:
- University of Minnesota: Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (@UMNEws)
- North Carolina A&T State University: NCAT C.A.R.E.S. 2.0 (Community-Aligned Research, Education and Service) Mobile Health Unit (@ncatsuaggies)
- @UCLA: Tenant Power Toolkit
Grateful for all the learning, cross-institutional connections, and shared commitment to driving real-world impact through engaged scholarship. 💙
Next stop: @IARSLCE hosted by @Loyola_NOLA in @CityOfNOLA!
#ESCImpact #PublicScholarship #CommunityEngagement #ServiceLearning #GivePulse #HigherEd #DataWithPurpose #CarnegieClassification #ExperientialLearning #Edtech #Volunteerism
ALT Four images throughout the day showing a panel discussion, a group selfie with friends, and presentations.
ALT Save the date for the Engaged Scholarship in Changing Times, October 4 - 7, 2027 at the University of Minnesota!
The closing of @EASLHE 2026 featured the Young Researcher Keynote, giving the stage to two emerging scholars, and both presentations were fantastic.
Dr. Bernd Josef Leisen, research fellow and lecturer in Social Services Management at the University of Vechta, uses experimental behavioral economics to find solutions to current challenges in social services. His teaching and research focus on intergenerational cooperation, innovative forms of engagement using digital volunteering and micro-volunteering, and strengthening volunteer performance. He has co-initiated nationwide projects including “Digital Learning Tandems” and “ViVerA: Virtual Events in Elderly Care.” He shared how a study of student volunteer motivation grew into a nonprofit that matches young people with older adults for technology support. What began as a career-building activity for students became a reciprocal need for human connection.
Patrycja Lidia Stempniewicz, PhD candidate in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies at the University of Bologna’s Department of Interpreting and Translation, studies translator education through service-learning pedagogy. Her work focuses on ethical and professional agency, metacognition, active citizenship, and competence development. She treats translation as a socially engaged practice and translator education as a place where academic learning, professional training, and social responsibility meet. Patrycja walked us through her framework for distinguishing reflection that is impactful from reflection that is transformative, and made a strong case: if metacognitive reflection isn’t connected to the service-learning activity itself, it becomes just another performative exercise.
Thank you to the University of Bamberg team for hosting us so warmly and introducing us to life in Bamberg and Franconia. And thank you to the EASLHE coordinating board for opening thoughtful conversations on democratic practice, and on service learning as a way for our institutions to steward civic life and build civic agency. As Berta Paz Lourido (University of the Balearic Islands), of the EASLHE Board, reminded us in her closing remarks: educators in service learning carry an extra duty to shape democratic learning within our institutions. Even small steps build stronger, more transformative institutions.
We are excited to continue the conversation at the 10th @EASLHE Conference next year in Vienna. Bis zum nächsten Mal!
#EASLHE #ServiceLearning #CommunityEngagement #HigherEducation #CivicEngagement
ALT Lauren out with colleagues!
ALT Session of Dr. Bernd Josef Leisen, research fellow and lecturer in Social Services Management at the University of Vechta.
ALT Session of Patrycja Lidia Stempniewicz, PhD candidate in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies at the University of Bologna’s Department of Interpreting and Translation.
ALT Session of Patrycja Lidia Stempniewicz, PhD candidate in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies at the University of Bologna’s Department of Interpreting and Translation.