Greetings,
We are excited to extend an invitation to the 4th Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. This year’s theme is Thriving Together: A Place-Based Approach to Combating Isolation through Connected Communities.
Our theme explores how intentional, place-based community engagement fosters meaningful connections and a sense of belonging. By centering relationships, collaboration, and local contexts, we aim to address social isolation and strengthen the ties between campus, city, organizations, and community. Through shared learning and action, we seek to build more engaging, resilient, and connected communities where everyone can thrive through community engagement.
This two-day event will occur on November 5th, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Bishop Arts Theater Center) and November 6th, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (SMU Campus)
Call for Proposals
We welcome session proposals from community leaders, nonprofit professionals, Faculty, and students interested in sharing innovative place-based engagement strategies. Our symposium will consist of the following session types:
- Breakouts
- Breakout sessions provide an opportunity for smaller, in-depth discussions, fostering learning and discussion. Sessions last 50 minutes and feature a 40-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
- Champion Talks
- Champion Talks are quick, impactful, fast-paced stories intended to educate, uplift, and inspire our audience. Sessions last 20 minutes and feature a 10-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
- Posters
Poster sessions will feature visual presentations on both research and sharing topics. Student posters are highly encouraged.
Focus Areas
Our focus areas are designed to provide a structured yet flexible framework for presenters to begin thinking of possible presentations and our attendees to map a curated symposium experience. This year, our focus areas are:
- Campus-Community Connections: Fostering Meaningful Partnerships
- Focus: Strategies for building sustainable, reciprocal relationships between higher education institutions and local communities to combat isolation.
- Example Topics: Service-learning initiatives, community-based participatory research, university-community resource sharing, and cross-sector collaborations.
- Improving Connection: Building Belonging on Campus and Beyond
- Focus: Creating physical, digital, and social environments that cultivate connection and reduce loneliness.
- Example Topics: Engaging pedagogy, student-led engagement initiatives, the role of campus design in fostering belonging, and digital communities for remote/hybrid learners.
- Personal and Collective Well-being: Strengthening Social Resilience
- Focus: Approaches to enhancing individual and collective well-being through community engagement.
- Example Topics: Mental health initiatives, intergenerational engagement, the impact of storytelling on social connection, and grassroots efforts for social support.
- Reflective and Experiential Sessions
- Focus: Sharing experiences of loneliness, overcoming organizational and interpersonal isolation, and community building.
- Example: Interactive Workshops, activities that model community-building practices, guided reflection circles, embodied connection activities, creative expression for connection, civic reflection discussions.
Proposal Deadline
The proposal submission deadline is April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Acceptance decisions will be sent by May 5, 2025.
About the Place-Based Community Engagement (PBCE) Symposium
The PBCE Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area. This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts. Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.
About the SMU Engage Dallas Program
Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. This symposium allows us to share, expand and further develop the work of Engage Dallas, as well as invite other SMU faculty and staff to consider new and innovative ways to support community engagement efforts in Dallas.
