Elon to host 2018 Civic Engagement Institute on Feb. 13

Representatives from 27 colleges and universities will gather at Elon to explore the theory and practice of “deliberative pedagogy.”

More than 175 participants from 27 colleges and universities in the North Carolina Campus Compact network will gather at Elon University on Feb. 13 for a special institute exploring the theory and practice of “deliberative pedagogy.”

Timothy Shaffer of Kansas State University and Nicholas Longo of Providence College will lead the institute, drawing on scholarship collected in a book the two co-authored, “Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement.”

Shaffer and Longo assert that the classroom practice of deliberative pedagogy, as well as related dialogic approaches outside the classroom, can foster civility and strengthen democracy.

A dozen Elon University faculty and staff will attend. Mary Morrison, assistant dean of campus life and director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, and Naeemah Clark, associate professor of communications, will co-present a breakout session showcasing Elon’s efforts to foster campuswide dialogue across difference.

The Compact’s annual Civic Engagement Institute explores a special topic in the field of higher education civic and community engagement and is open to cross-departmental teams of faculty, staff and students from member campuses. In recent years, institutes have focused on bridging the gap between social entrepreneurship and community engagement, on democratic education in the tradition of Dewey, and on linkages between campus-community engagement and economic development.

North Carolina Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of 37 public, private, and community colleges and universities that share a commitment to civic and community engagement. The network was founded in 2002 and is hosted by Elon University. North Carolina Campus Compact is an affiliate of the national Campus Compact organization, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students.

Follow this event on social media @NCCampusCompact and #CEI18.