Call for proposals for Engage OHIO 2026: Community and Place-Based Engagement Symposium

The Ohio University Center for Community Impact invites faculty, staff and community partners to submit proposals for the 2026 Engage OHIO Community and Place-Based Engagement Symposium.

Scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in Athens, the symposium will showcase the depth and breadth of university-community collaboration advancing student learning, strengthening communities and contributing to the public good.

The Engage OHIO Symposium highlights innovative, reciprocal partnerships that center place-based and community engaged teaching, research, and collaborative problem-solving. The event will feature interactive sessions, panels, workshops and mobile experiences designed to elevate shared scholarship and community impact across disciplines and sectors.

“Engage OHIO is about what becomes possible when university and community partners come together with intention, trust, and shared purpose,” said Courtney Lefebvre, associate director of the Center for Community Impact. “At its core, it reflects a commitment to community engaged experiential learning, and the belief that we do our best work collaboratively.”

Call for proposals

Proposals are now being accepted for traditional one-hour conference sessions as well as two-hour mobile sessions. Mobile sessions will take place in the afternoon at locations within 15 minutes of the Ohio University Inn and Conference Center, offering participants immersive, place-based engagement experiences. Transportation support will be provided.

Submissions should align with one of the following five themes. Including both a campus and community partner is strongly encouraged.

Key themes:

1. Place-Based Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Rooted in Community
2. Partnerships in Practice: Building Ethical, Reciprocal Collaboration
3. Community Capacity and Resilience: Tools for Nonprofit and Public Sector Partners
4. Community-Engaged Research and Scholarship
5. Curricular and Experiential Engagement for Student Success

"Place-based instruction grounds a curriculum in lived reality, inviting students and faculty alike to witness the tangible consequences of their discipline,” said Jerry Miller, professor and director of the Political Communication Certificate Program in the Scripps College of Communication. “All subjects from art to economics to science to communication shape and are shaped by the world around us, and students deserve to see that power at work in their own communities."

You can submit proposals and find more information here.

Submission Information

The deadline to submit proposals is Monday, June 15, 2026. For additional details, including sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to the Center for Community Impact at communityimpact@ohio.edu. 

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