Engagement Scholarship Consortium seeks presentation proposals for Roanoke conference

From: Office of Engagement, Outreach and International Affairs

Virginia Tech will host the 2025 Engagement Scholarship Consortium International Conference from Oct. 8-9 (preconference session are Oct. 6-7) at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. The call for proposals is now open, inviting scholars, practitioners, and community partners to submit presentations that showcase innovative approaches to engaged scholarship.

The 2025 ESC Conference will be a place for engaging conversations about the many ways that we work collectively to build and sustain strong communities. We will come together to share the outcomes and impact of our work, explore new ideas, and co-create solutions to society’s most pressing problems.

Presentation proposals will be considered on any topic clearly connected to the advancement of community engagement. The submission deadline is Monday, March 31. For more information or to submit a proposal, visit the Engagement Scholarship Consortium's website.

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium is made up of higher education member institutions from around the U.S. that work to build strong university-community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship and designed to help build community capacity.

Who should submit a proposal?

Individuals, teams, and transdisciplinary collaborators across the educational spectrum, including:

• Undergraduate and graduate students involved in community/university engagement and/or studying the impacts of service-learning and community engagement.
• Representatives of community, educational, government, and/or corporate organizations working in partnership with colleges and universities.
• University and college faculty and staff involved in the study or practice of engaged scholarship, the scholarship of engagement, the implementation of engagement programs, or service-learning.
• Higher education administrators, including community engagement professionals and student affairs professionals, who foster institutional support for community engagement.
• Community members and other critical stakeholders who play key roles in community/university partnerships and their impacts.

Presentation formats

Proposals may be submitted in any of the following formats:

Research and Partnership Presentations – 30 minutes
This multi-presentation format provides a focused opportunity to advance our collective knowledge about community engagement by sharing best practices, lessons learned, and/or research findings.

Interactive Workshop
Workshops are designed with an intentional focus on skill and knowledge development. Presenters should plan to share information about a particular body of knowledge, evidence-based practice, engaged teaching or research techniques, assessment or research results, or methodologies. Active discussion between the audience and presenter(s) should be encouraged throughout the session.

Roundtables
Roundtables are designed to be highly interactive sessions focused on a common theme or interest area. The presenter(s) should begin the Roundtable session with a brief presentation of the results of a research study, or a rich description of a translational, educational, service-learning, clinical, or other program of engaged scholarship or evidence-based practice. The presenter(s) should then facilitate an engaging conversation with participants to answer questions, share ideas, and discuss best practices or innovative approaches.

Panels
Panels are designed to exchange information about a particular body of knowledge, evidence-based practice, engaged teaching technique, assessment or research instrument, or methodology. Panels include a target of three or four panelists and feature active discussions and conversation from various perspectives about a topic.

Posters
Posters are best suited to reporting results of research studies, assessments, and evaluations as well as the presentation of translational, educational, service-learning, clinical, or other programs of engaged scholarship or evidence-based practice. This year, poster presenters will also be invited to display their work digitally through the ESC conference app and be considered for Outstanding Poster Presentation awards.

To learn more about this year’s conference, contact Susan E. Short, associate vice president for engagement in Outreach and International Affairs.