At the Campus Compact conference held in Denver, USA, April 7-10, 2024, the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) organised and hosted a conversation among several international coalitions on university engagement and social responsibility.  In addition, Network members presented at a conference session on global dimensions of community engagement.

Campus Compact is the primary national coalition of U.S. colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education.  Many of its members partner with sister institutions abroad.

In this time of dramatic expansion of global networks on university engagement, USRN organised and hosted a conversation among several of these international coalitions.  The group had an extensive exchange about their respective current activities and future plans.  It was a spirited and highly productive dialogue focused on “How can we support and reinforce each other’s work, and elevate our collective impacts?”  The discussion yielded promising recommendations for collaboration, and the group committed to continuing this inter-network dialogue.

Participating were 14 leaders of 9 networks:  University Social Responsibility Network; Campus Compact; Open Society University Network;  Global Cooperation for the Democratic Mission of Higher Education; International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy; Carnegie Community Engagement Classification; International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement; Cross-Strait, Hong Kong and Macau Service-Learning Network; and Community-Based Global Learning Collaborative.

USRN members also presented at a session on “Pathways and Opportunities for Engaging with Global Civic Engagement Networks and Institutions.”  This knowledge-to-action workshop, moderated by USRN Senior Advisor Rob Hollister, presented global perspectives and practices, aiming to increase attendees’ understanding of how civic engagement and service learning are organised and implemented across the globe.  Attendees explored opportunities to engage with individual institutions and global networks, including USRN and the Global Cooperation for the Democratic Mission of Higher Education alliance.

Joanne Curry, Vice President for External Relations, Simon Fraser University, presented her institution’s innovative community engagement work.  Grace Ngai, Head, Service-Learning and Leadership Office, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), shared PolyU’s pioneering experience and plans.

Additional presentations were made by Rita Hodges, Executive Secretary, Global Cooperation for the Democratic Mission of Higher Education, and Yadira Pinilla, Director of Human Development, Department of Education for Human Development and Employment, Organization of American States (presentation file).