Presidents Forum

Since 2011, NC Campus Engagement has convened presidents and chancellors to discuss the role college and university leaders play in developing and institutionalizing higher education civic and community engagement. This Forum is open to all North Carolina presidents. However, the dinner hosted the night before, by that year’s host president, is for NCCE member presidents only. The Forum is typically held on the same day as the PACE Conference.

The higher education community and civic engagement movement is 50 years old. Are our local communities better off today? Have we alleviated the pressing needs in our local communities such as poverty, educational disparities, and food insecurity? How is social mobility in our local communities?

How about our civic mission? What is the quality of the civic health of our local communities concerning indicators such as trust in institutions, volunteering, participation in groups, and civil discourse? And then there is democracy… Because your institution exists, are local voter registration and turnout rates strong for all elections (national/general, midterms, and municipal/local elections)? Do folks in your community understand for whom, for what, and why they are voting? What is the quality of media literacy in your local community? Are the democratic structures in your community strong and effective? Can residents access and trust the local government? How deep is polarization in your local community and how has your institution helped address this issue?

The higher education community and civic engagement movement is over half a century old.  By all indicators, every issue listed above is worse off today. Furthermore, higher education is under increased scrutiny and criticism. In light of that reality, could this be the time to recommit to our place-based roots and anchor-institution mission?  Is it time to deepen our efforts to ensure both the quality of life and civic health in our own backyard is stronger and better?

We invite you to step away from your campus responsibilities for a few hours to explore this provocative and relevant topic with presidents from all three sectors.

RSVP your Forum attendance by January 24, 2025

krussell11@ncengage.org or (336) 278-7278

Lodging

Lodging is available at the Proximity Hotel, Greensboro, NC. To make lodging reservations in the hotel event block, click the link below. 

Pre-Forum Dinner for NCCE Member Presidents

President Clarke will host NCCE member presidents for a dinner on February 11, 2025 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  The dinner will be held at the Medlin Building on the Guilford Technical Community College campus in Jamestown, NC. Please RSVP for the dinner by January 8 at ncce@ncengage.org. 

Guest Speakers

Dr. Timothy K. Eatman

Timothy K. Eatman, Ph.D., an educational sociologist and publicly engaged scholar, serves as the Inaugural Dean of the Honors Living – Learning Community and Professor of Urban Education at Rutgers University-Newark. Dr. Eatman currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors and Membership Committee Chair of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Also, with AAC&U, he serves as a faculty member of the Institute on High Impact Practices for Student Success (HIPS). Prior to this current appointment his primary network of scholarly operation and leadership was with the national consortium Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life serving as Faculty Co-Director. He is national co-chair of the Urban Research Based Action Network, a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Carnegie Engagement Classification for Community Engagement, member of the National Advisory Board for Bringing Theory to Practice (BTtP), and elected member at large of the American Democracy Project Steering Committee of AASCU. Dr. Eatman has served as board chair of the International Association for Service Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE).

Pursuing a rigorous scholarly agenda, Dr. Eatman publishes widely, serves on editorial boards and reviews for Academic publishing houses, scholarly journals and conferences. He has written several book chapters and research reports including the widely cited Scholarship in Public: Knowledge Creation and Tenure Policy in the Engaged University, a seminal report on faculty rewards and publicly engaged scholarship. Tim is co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement. He recently accepted an appointment as Guest Editor for the eJournal of Public Affairs.

A widely sought-after speaker, workshop facilitator, and collaborator who has earned local, national and international recognition for his leadership in advancing understandings about the multi-faceted impact of publicly engaged scholarship in the university of the 21^st Century, Dr. Eatman was recognized by the University of Illinois College of Education with its 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award.  For more information see his webpages at http://timeatman.com.

See Dr. Eatman in action in this PBS interview. 

Dr. Peter Levine

Peter Levine, Ph.D., is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs in Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life. He is a political philosopher and political scientist who specializes on civic life and has helped to develop Civic Studies as an international intellectual movement.

Levine graduated from Yale in 1989 with a degree in philosophy. He studied philosophy at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, receiving his doctorate in 1992. Before coming to Tufts in 2008, he worked for Common Cause, the Institute for Philosophy & Public Policy at the University of Maryland, and the National Commission for Civic Renewal and helped to found and then led CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), which is now part of Tisch College. He is a full professor in Tufts’ Political Science Department, directs the Civic Studies program, and holds secondary appointments in Philosophy, International Relations, Science and Technology Studies, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).

In the domain of civic education, Levine was a co-organizer and co-author of The Civic Mission of Schools (2003), The College, Career & Citizenship Framework for State Social Studies Standards (2013) and The Educating for American Democracy Roadmap (2021). The first two are the sources of the “six promising practices” and the notion of “taking informed action” that are widely found in state and local policies and curricula. The last was released in 2021 and is receiving prominent attention.

Levine is the author of eight books, including most recently We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America (Oxford University Press, 2013) and What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life (Oxford University Press, 2022).

He has served on the boards or steering committees of such civic organizations as AmericaSpeaks, the American Bar Association Committee’s for Public Education, the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, CivXNow, the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, Everyday Democracy, Educating for American Democracy, Discovering Justice, the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation.

Dr. Byron P. White

Byron P. White, Ph.D., has spent his career as a journalist and administrator in academic, corporate, non-profit and public sectors facilitating mutually beneficial engagement between institutions and urban communities. He currently is Associate Provost for Urban Research and Community Engagement at the University of North Carolina Charlotte where he oversees a new office called urbanCORE (Community-Oriented Research and Engagement). It is charged with mobilizing, assessing and advancing efforts that connect the University’s interdisciplinary, research resources to community assets in order to co-produce transformative solutions to societal issues. He also has an appointment as a Professor of Practice in the Department of Communication Studies and is an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Education Leadership.

Prior to joining UNC Charlotte, Dr. White was Executive Director of StrivePartnership, a Cincinnati-based collective impact organization focused on education improvement for urban learners from cradle to career, and a Vice President for its sponsor organization, KnowledgeWorks Foundation. He previously was Vice President for University Engagement and Chief Diversity Officer at Cleveland State University, where he was responsible for developing and overseeing strategies that advanced civic engagement, workplace engagement, and inclusion and multicultural engagement in collaboration with faculty, students and administrators. Before joining Cleveland State, he was Vice Chancellor for Economic Advancement for the University System of Ohio, and Associate Vice President for Community Engagement at Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he was the founding director of the Eigel Center for Community Engaged Learning.

Dr. White began his career as a newspaper journalist covering urban issues. He served as the editorial page editor of The Cincinnati Post, and as an editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune and editor of the Tribune’s Urban Affairs Team. He later became the Tribune’s senior manager for community relations. Between newspaper stints, Dr. White was active in grassroots, community development efforts, serving as founding director of the Conference of Walnut Hills Churches for Community Economic Development in Cincinnati and as a consultant with community-based organizations on Chicago’s West Side through the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University, on whose national faculty he serves. He currently chairs the Programming Committee for the board of the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte.

Dr. White is a former Research Associate at the Kettering Foundation, and serves on the Advisory Board of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. He has a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University.

Previous Forums

2022 Presidents Forum [Virtual]

Host: NC Campus Engagement Executive Board

Speakers:

Eric Liu, CEO, Citizen University

“Making the Case for Civics Education”

Special thank you to Elon University for sponsoring Mr. Liu.

Demetri Morgan, Ph.D., Chair of the Higher Education Program and Assistant Professor at Loyola University Chicago

“Engaging Contemporary Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Tensions: Leadership for the Next ‘Normal’ ”

2021 Presidents Forum [Virtual]

Host:  Executive Board 

Speakers:

Thomas A. Stith III, President, North Carolina Community College System

“Promoting Democracy and Civic  Engagement During Turbulent Times”

William V. Flores, former president of the University of Houston–Downtown, current manager of the UHD Masters of Nonprofit Management Program

Katrina S. Rogers, President of Fielding Graduate University

Editors of Democracy, Civic Engagement, and Citizenship in Higher Education: Reclaiming Our Civic Purpose

2015 Forum

“Creating a Culture for #ServiceYear in North Carolina”

Host: President Leo Lambert, Elon University

Location: Elon

Retired General Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism task force, Joint Special Operations Command and Chair of the Board of Service Year Alliance

Making a year of full-time service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for young Americans of all backgrounds

Presidential Panel discussants:

Richard Brodhead, Duke University; Carol Quillen, Davidson College; Taylor Reveley, College of William & Mary; Randy Woodson, North Carolina State University; Leo Lambert, Elon University (moderator)

Philanthropy/Business panel participants: Dave King, CEO, LabCorp; Kristy Teskey, Executive Director, John M. Belk Endowment; Nancy Cable, President, Arthur Vining Davis Foundation

(pictured l to r: Brodhead and Quillen)

2014 Forum

February 5, 2014

Host: Chancellor Gary Miller, University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Location: Wilmington, NC

 Speakers:

Chancellor Linda Brady, UNC Greensboro

Chancellor Harold Martin, NC A&T State University

Topic: Building a Sustained Higher Education and Business Collaboration: Opportunity Greensboro 

President Richard Guarasci, Wagner College

Topics: Maximizing Economic Development and Community Engagement Impact on Staten Island & Leading an Anchor Institution deeply committed to Community Engagement

Maureen Curley, President, Campus Compact

President Richard Guarasci, member, Campus Compact Executive Board

Topic: Campus Compact Moving Strategically Forward: North Carolina and National

Jason Mangone, Director, The Franklin Project

MacKenzie Moritz, Associate Director for Strategic Partnerships, The Franklin Project

Topic: The Franklin Project: Making Possible a Year of Service 

Dr. Jody Kretzmann, co-founder and co-director of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, Northwestern University

Topic: Higher Education Linkages that Build Vital Communities

Andy Chan, Vice President, Office of Personal and Career Development, Wake Forest University

Topic: How to get a job with a philosophy degree: Transforming higher education to prepare students for life

Dr. Barbara Holland, Researcher and Consultant

Topic: The Strategic Value of Engagement: Creating a Culture of Engagement

President Leo M. Lambert, Elon University and member of the North Carolina Campus Compact Executive Board

Topic: Setting our Course for the Future

Photo:  Members of the NC Campus Compact Executive Board (Leo Lambert, Elon; Jo Allen, Meredith; Ken Peacock, Appalachian State University; Nido Qubein, High Point University; Kyle Carter, UNC Pembroke; James Anderson, Fayetteville State University; Gary Miller, UNC Wilmington; Lisa Keyne, NC Campus Compact) Photos by: Jeff Janowski/UNCW.

2013 Forum

Host: President Leo Lambert, Elon University

Location: Elon, NC

Speakers:

Dr. Peter L. Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Director of The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE), Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University

Roundtable discussions:

President Jo Allen, Meredith College, moderator

American Public Higher Education and the Value of Place:  New Frontier

Chancellor Gary L. Miller, University of North Carolina Wilmington & NC Campus Compact Board member

The Strategic Value of Engagement: Creating a Culture of Engagement

Judith A. Ramaley, President Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Public Service at Portland State University in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government and President Emerita of Winona State University

Creating a Culture of Engagement in North Carolina: The Strategic Value of our Compact

Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock, Appalachian State University, NC Campus Compact Executive Board Chair (pictured in top photo to the left)

President Garrett D. Hinshaw, Catawba Valley Community College & NC Campus Compact Executive Board Member

Setting our Course for the Future

Chancellor Kyle Carter, University of North Carolina Pembroke

2012 Forum

“Intensifying Engagement: Presidents talking to Presidents”

February 15, 2012 (held in conjunction with NC Campus Compact’s 10th Anniversary Celebration)

Location: The Friday Center, Chapel Hill, NCHosts: NC Campus Compact Executive Board

Speakers:

Dr. Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Vice President, Association of American Colleges and Universities

Dr. Mark Gearan, President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Syracuse University

Panel discussants: Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Syracuse University; President Mark Gearan, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; President Brian Murphy, De Anza College

Moderator: Dr. Leo M. Lambert, President, Elon University & NC Campus Compact Executive Board member

Panel discussants: President Scott Ralls, NC Community Colleges (pictured); 

President Carol Quillen, Davidson College (pictured);  

Chancellor Phil Dubois, UNC Charlotte

Introductions: President Julianne Malveaux, Bennett College

Moderator: President Mark Gearan, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

2011 Forum

“Service as a Solution”

February 9, 2011

Host: President Leo Lambert, Elon University

Location: Elon, NC

Speakers:

Nicole Gallant, Director, Learn & Serve America, Corporation for National & Community Service

Panel Discussants: President Scott Ralls, NC Community College System; President Tom Ross, University of North Carolina; President Hope Williams, NC Independent Colleges & Universities

Moderator: President Garrett Hinshaw, Catawba Valley Community College & NC Campus Compact Executive Board member