WCU to host statewide student conference centered on community involvement Nov. 7
10/1/2009 - Students from more than 30 colleges and universities will gather at Western Carolina University for the 17th annual North Carolina Campus Compact Student Conference on Saturday, Nov. 7.

N.C. Campus Compact is a coalition of colleges and universities collaborating to increase campuswide participation in community and public service across the state, and the annual conference is designed to help students learn about best practices and innovative ideas in civic engagement.

“Students from community colleges, private colleges and our public universities will share their ideas about how to be involved in the community through research and service,” said Lisa Keyne, executive director of North Carolina Campus Compact. “These very committed students are developing habits of engagement that will extend throughout their lives.”

Preceding the conference will be a canned food drive, which begins on conference participants’ campuses in October, and a blanket-making service project at WCU on Friday Nov. 6. Events at the 2009 conference, themed “Color Outside the Lines: Igniting Fires and Spirits, and Inspiring Service,” include workshops, presentations and roundtable discussions. A workshop for civic engagement administrators will feature a panel discussion about “Canton Connections,” a WCU initiative to assist the Haywood County town with post-disaster revitalization projects.

In addition, the Community Impact Student Awards will be presented at the conference. Each campus compact member institution selects one recipient of the community impact student award in recognition of outstanding service.

“Western Carolina is a perfect host for this conference, as the university continues to be a leader of community engagement in the region,” said Keyne. Last year, WCU was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction.

Aaron Camp, a senior majoring in social work from Forest City and WCU’s representative on the N.C. Campus Compact’s student advisory board, will participate in the opening session. WCU graduate student Bessie Dietrich Goggins will deliver the closing address.

For more information, visit the 2009 conference Web site, or contact Glenn Bowen, director of the WCU Center for Service Learning, at (828) 227-7184 or gbowen@email.wcu.

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Last Modified: Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009

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