Ten Years of Talloires Network - Times Higher Education Opinion Piece

This month brings an occasion for collective celebration as we commemorate ten years since the signing of the Talloires Declaration on the Civic Roles and Social Responsibilities of Higher Education, which gave birth to our network.

In September of 2005, 29 university presidents and leaders gathered at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France. They came from places as diverse as Brazil, Indonesia, Ghana, Australia, and the United States. They represented very different higher education institutions facing similar challenges: How do we ensure that university education instills a sense of civic service in students? What can our universities do to prepare graduates to have impact in their communities through meaningful partnerships and social entrepreneurship? How can we collaborate across the globe to strengthen our commitment to social responsibility within academia?

In the last ten years, we have brought people together to explore these questions. What started with those 29 university presidents has expanded to include colleagues in more than 350 institutions. Today, many more people are directly engaged or represented in TN’s work, through the Youth Economic Participation Initiative, the University Volunteers Program, the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship and the Regional Perspectives in Civic Engagement cohort.

This week, the Talloires Network Steering Committee will gather in New York City to evaluate our collective efforts to date, and to chart the course for the future. We hope that, wherever you might find yourself today, you will contribute and be part of that future as well.

Best regards,

Anthony P. Monaco
President, Tufts University
Chair, Talloires Network

Talloires Network Leaders Challenge the Global Rankings

The negative impacts of the university rankings on civic engagement were a significant topic of discussion at the 2014 Cape Town conference. The seven-point conference Call to Action urged TN and its members to: "Influence the global university ranking systems to take civic engagement seriously and to reduce the negative effects of the ranking systems on the public service responsibilities of higher education."

Talloires Network Steering Committee Chair Tony Monaco and Vice Chair Cheryl de la Rey penned an op-ed Times Higher Education: World University Rankings blog: should global league tables consider community engagement [1]. They said:

University civic engagement is vitally important—for faculty and students, for communities, and for universities themselves. It offers a unique opportunity to improve teaching through an active, experiential pedagogy that can elevate student learning across the full range of fields. It educates future leaders for change by giving future engineers, physicians, or businesswomen meaningful opportunities to serve while they learn.It can significantly improve conditions in communities, whether by increasing literacy rates or cleaning up the environment. And it builds support for higher education by providing visible evidence that universities are a good public investment.

But the global rankings pay little attention to these activities. In fact, their overwhelming emphasis on research reputation and productivity systematically undercuts other key missions. The result? Unrealistic research aspirations at many universities, and unrealistic research expectations among policy-makers and funding authorities. The cumulative effect is that, worldwide, too many universities direct scarce resources disproportionately toward the kind of research measured by rankings at the expense of their civic, social, and educational missions.

Partner Network News

Twelve universities in the European Union have launched a partnership to explore community- based learning as an ethos and practice. The project, entitled Europe Engage, is co-directed by NUI Galway and the Autonomous University of Madrid. As part of the project partners hope to highlight the growth of the pedagogical approach throughout Europe by way of mapping activity through a survey tool. Learn More>>> [2]

The Latin American Center for Service Learning (CLAYSS) celebrated a highly successful 18th Annual International Seminar on Civic Engagement and Learning. Matias Ramos and Jennifer Catalano were there to present and participate in the Researcher's Day and the meeting of the Ibero-American Network for Service Learning. Presentations from the conference are available on the CLAYSS website. Learn More>>> [3]

Engagement Australia gathered academics and practitioners of civic engagement at its 12th Annual Engagement Australia Conference in Sydney on July 19-22, 2015. Amy Newcomb Rowe of the Talloires Network Secretariat was present along with representatives of 25 universities from all corners of Australia. Learn More>>> [4]

Talloires Network Connects Looks at the World of Civic Engagement

Our online community of practice continues to grow. Over our summer break, we published pieces on a partnertship between Pakistani and British social entrepreneurs [5], a site visit from University of Minnesota to civic engagement projects in Malaysia and Burkina Faso [6], and the video conversation between Youth Economic Participation Initiative (YEPI) partners in South Africa and Zimbabwe [7].

Deepen your relationship with us by joining TN Connects today. Learn More>>> [8]

Opportunities and Announcements

We would like to invite you to join us on 30 September – 2 October 2015 at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit hosted by the University of Melbourne, as we explore the fundamental role that leading universities have in intellectual thought and economic action. Talloires Network member universities are eligible for a 30% discount on registration when they use the code TAL/WAS. Learn More>>> [9]

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Nomination are now open for the 2016 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award. This award recognizes graduate students who show exemplary promise as future leaders of higher education; who demonstrate a commitment to developing academic and civic responsibility in themselves and others; and whose work reflects a strong emphasis on teaching and learning. Learn More>>> [10]

The Call for Proposals is now open for the 14th International Conference of Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, which will take place during May of 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Share your knowledge, wisdom and experience as we highlight partnerships and research collaborations that address health equity through social justice. Learn More>>> [11]

Campus Compact invites all Talloires Network members to attend its 30th Anniversary Conference, “Accelerating Change: Engagement for Impact.” The event will be held in Boston in March 2016. All TN members are eligible for the Campus Compact member rate. Please fill out the online form to obtain the member discount code. Learn More>>> [12]

Papers and Publications

The UNESCO Co-Chairs in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, who for the past four decades have advanced participatory research with the aim of empowering marginalized people, have issued a new online publication. The title of the e-book, authored by Budd Hall, Rajesh Tandon and Crystal Tremblay, is "Strengthening Community University Research Partnerships: Global Perspectives." Read More>>> [13]

The American Journal of Public Health's new article: “Community-Based Review of Research Across Diverse Community Contexts: Key Characteristics, Critical Issues, and Future Directions” is now available. The paper discusses the growing number of community-based organizations and community academic partnerships that are implementing processes to determine whether and how health research is conducted in their communities. Read More>>> [14]

Engagement Australia has issued a new publication titled, "Knowledge In Action: University-Community Engagement in Australia." The authors are Isabelle Bartkowiak-Theron of the University of Tasmania and Kathryn Anderson of Flinders University. Read More>>> [15]

Upcoming Events

The Anchor Institutions Task Force (AITF), a growing network of around 600 leaders promoting the engagement of anchor institutions in community and economic development is hosting its conference in New York City on October 29 and 30, 2015. Learn More>>> [16]

Delegates from all over South East Asia will convene at the 4th University-Community Engagement Conference in Gold Coast, Australia, in November 2015. This conference is organized by the universities making up the Asia Pacific Community Engagement Network (APUCEN). It's the first time the conference will be held in Australia. Learn More>>> [17]

Registration is now open for the 9th Annual TnCIS Conference on International Education: "High-Impact Practices: Study Abroad & Service Learning." Taking place in Memphis, Tennessee next November, this conference is sponsored by the Tennessee Consortium for International Studies. Learn More>>> [18]

The Living Knowledge 2016 Conference will be hosted by Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland, from 22-24 June of next year. There will be a focus on science shops, community-based research, and other knowledge exchange and creation collaborations between local communities, civil society organisations, researchers and educators. Learn More>>> [19]

We are always updating the conferences calendar on our website. Read More>>> [20]