Limited funds are available to support travel expenses for graduate students to attend the 2026 IARSLCE Conference in New Orleans, USA, scheduled for October 11-13, 2026.

Registration is open on the conference website.

Purpose:

The IARSLCE Graduate Student Travel Support aims to support graduate students who are conducting research that contributes to the advancement of the field of Service-Learning and Community Engagement (SLCE) to attend the annual IARSLCE conference. We seek students who are committed to the mission and goals of IARSLCE and the Graduate Student Network (GradSN) and who are eager to actively participate in the conference and our ongoing activities.

Funding amount:

• Travel within the United States: up to $500 per student
• International travel: up to $1,000 per student
• Total funding available: up to $4,000

Application information and eligibility here.

Important dates:

• Monday, July 6: submit your application to the IARSLCE Graduate Student Travel Support here.
• Mid- to late-July: announcement of the IARSLCE Graduate Student Travel Support recipients.

To learn more about conference details, including anticipated costs for travel and accommodation, visit the conference website.

Submissions Close: March 18, 2026

Acceptance Notification: mid-April 2026

Early Bird Registration Deadline: May 15, 2026

Review the full RFP and submit your proposal through our online portal. Let’s gather in the Crescent City to turn “the urgency of now” into transformative action.

The  International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) Awards celebrate excellence in research and scholarship related to service-learning and community engagement. Consider submitting a nomination for one of the following categories:

• Distinguished Career Award
• Early Career Award
• Publication of the Year
• Dissertation Award
• International Research Award
• Community Outcomes and Impact Award
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award
• Public Scholarship Award

Learn more about the award categories to nominate a colleague or a self-nomination. All nominees will be notified of their status in April, and award winners will be honored at the 2025 IARSLCE Conference in Durban, South Africa, August 13-15, 2025.

Offered in two parts, the gathering will engage participants in analyzing, organizing, and prioritizing research questions and items that will form the North America section of  the International Association of Researach on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) Global Research Agenda.

The North America regional gathering is a three-day event composed of two meetings: (Participants are welcome to attend one or both meetings):

• Sunday, March 30, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Atlanta, Georgia, Marriott Marquis Hotel — in partnership with Campus Compact and the Campus Compact 2025 conference. (1-day meeting)
• Thursday, April 3, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM & Friday, April 4, 9:00 AM – 12:00 noon, Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Campus — in partnership with Duke Service-Learning and GivePulse. (2-day meeting).

Lend your voices and perspectives to the research agenda. Attendance is free! Registration required.

Follow this link for details on how to register for the gathering and for more information on the research agenda.

Questions? Please contact Andy Furco at afurco@umn.edu.

This year the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) is celebrating 25 years of advancing high-quality, transdisciplinary research that deepens our shared understanding of service-learning and community engagement in all its forms. This milestone reflects the dedication of individuals like you, whose passion and commitment to service-learning and community engagement have been essential to our mission.

We are excited to invite you to join us at the 2025 IARSLCE Conference in Durban, South Africa, in August. The conference theme, “Celebrating a Quarter Century of Impact: Reflecting on Our Mission and Charting Inclusive Future Directions,” will provide a unique platform to reflect on our shared progress and envision the future of our field.

This special gathering will feature:

• A look back at IARSLCE’s rich 25-year history and achievements.
• Opportunities to connect with emerging scholars and practitioners.
• A chance to collaborate on shaping the future of service-learning and community engagement research.

All nominees will be notified of their status in May and award winners will be recognized at the 2024 IARSLCE Conference in San Diego, Oct 2-4. Please help us recognize the outstanding scholars in our field by submitting a nomination!

2024 IARSLCE Awards Categories:

• Dissertation Award
• Distinguished Career Award
• Early Career Award
• Publication of the Year Award
• International Research Award
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award
• Community Outcomes and Impact Award
• Public Scholarship Award

We also rely on our membership to serve on review committees and select our recipients. If you are willing to serve as a reviewer, please email the IARSLCE Awards Committee at awards@iarslce.org.

Learn more here.

1. How is service learning and community engagement implemented in different communities and parts of the world?

2. How does research inform best practices for preparing students, higher education professionals and community practitioners to engage in reciprocal and equitable relationships with communities? How do we know that these relationships are reciprocal and equitable?

3. How does SLCE impact student learning?

4. How does the SLCE field engage with place-based and/or identity-conscious equity related to socio-economic and health equity?

5. How does research/scholarship inform and support accessible and inclusive SLCE practice?

6. What are the SLCE innovations around access and inclusion that guide best practice for scholarship?

The Conference Committee invites proposals that present scholarship related to service-learning and community engagement in a wide range of contexts. Especially encouraged are proposals that consider these questions and connect in some way to the conference theme of Redefining Research, Access, & Inclusion in SLCE. We are excited to gather in New Orleans at Tulane University this October to learn about vital research and scholarship being developed around the world and its implications for the field.

Learn more and submit a proposal.

Session One: Friday, September 16, 2022, 2:30 PM

The revolutionary scholarship of Lina Dostilio and colleagues (2016) provided a framework to understand the complexity of CEP’s roles in higher education and the array of knowledge, skills, and critical commitments they demonstrate through these roles. These scholars’ comprehensive competency model has carved out a legitimate space for many who were otherwise classified generally as “staff” at our institutions. Now, as we manage the ongoing fallout of the pandemic and other interlocking justice issues, we invite CEPs to draw on the competency model to set our individual and collective course. Webinar participants will hear from three of the creators of the CEP competency model about how it has guided their community engagement work, and how their perspectives on it have evolved in the changing context of higher education and our world over the past few years.

A moderated Q&A will follow. Participants will review the competency model as a launch point for reflection on their strengths, challenges, and aspirations for their work.

More information.

Register.

The follow-up webinar on October 5 will be a space for reflective conversation, using the competency model as a facilitation structure.

Our next Dissertation Dish will feature Dr. Marisol Morales, Executive Director of Carnegie Elective Classifications with the American Council on Education (ACE). During this 90 minute webinar, you will hear a summary of Dr. Morales’s research, including her research question, methodology, findings, and recommendations for future research. You will have the opportunity to engage in conversation with her (last 30 minutes of webinar) and others.  Click here to register – and if you missed our recent Dissertation Dish, please click here to access it on our youtube channel!

Date and Time: August 2, 2022, 3:00 PM ET

If you have recently completed your dissertation on a community engagement topic and are interested in being featured on a Dissertation Dish, please complete this submission form.

Learn more and register.

We invite you to join us online November 15-17, 2021 to rebuild, strengthen, and expand our scholarly community while co-creating future directions for service-learning and community engagement research. Our virtual gathering will include opportunities to consider reflections from prominent scholars; discuss timely ideas, dilemmas, inquiry lines, and problems of practice with peers; and discover emerging and evolving research in our field. Most importantly, we will rekindle and reaffirm our connections to each other, and to our broader communities, by sharing space and building relationships of solidarity and coalition.

Our goals for this gathering are to:

• Provide a forum for scholar-practitioners to present and get feedback about their current SLCE research
• Offer opportunities for participants to network and take part in conversations about issues that are critical to the field
• Build individual and collective capacity to enact engaged scholarship that responds to pressing and enduring issues around the world and supports ongoing movements for equity, justice, and sustainability
• Weave together a community of respect, solidarity, and collaboration among engaged scholars and practitioners, and strengthen commitments to our home communities

For more information about the gathering, the complete request for proposals, and the link to submit, please click here.

Proposal Deadline – June 25, 2021

Because of changes to the IARSLCE 2020 Conference, registration for the GradSN Mentorship Program will occur through this Google form (link: https://forms.gle/C1cwgNNKNVuawQvYA).

Anyone who has participated or is interested in participating in the GradSN Mentoring program will be invited to join a session Thursday, October 15th 2020 at 6:00 PM ET for questions, conversation, and networking. You do not have to attend this event to participate in the Mentorship program. Details will be sent out via email.

If you would like to be matched with a mentor or mentee starting October 12th, 2020 please complete the Google form by October 2nd 2020.

Questions can be directed to Elisabeth.Fornaro@temple.edu.

Celebrating the “I” in IARSLCE: Researching Engagement Across Borders
October 23-25, 2019
Hotel Albuquerque Old Town, Albuquerque, NM

http://www.researchslce.org/conferences/

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d44aea928a20-chat

Read more about IARSLCE:

The International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) is an international non-profit organization devoted to promoting research and discussion about service-learning and community engagement. The IARSLCE was launched in 2005, and incorporated in 2007.

http://www.researchslce.org/about-us/

Overview

The Conference Content Committee (CCC) will be selected by the Chair of the Conference Content Committee and approved by the IARSLCE Board. This working group of 4-7 IARSLCE members is committed to and responsible for organizing the program for the annual conference, taking place October 23-25, 2019 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Members of the CCC will serve a one-year appointment.

Desired Skills & Abilities

This is a working committee that will convene at least 1x/month via conference call. In addition, each of the members of the committee will have a specific set of tasks associated with conference organization and oversight and will be expected to complete all tasks according to pre-determined deadlines. To be eligible for committee participation and membership, applicants must:

• Agree to attend 1x/month conference calls, plus additional calls for subcommittee work
• Have a track record of organizational excellence
• Be actively engaged in and familiar with research around service-learning and community engagement
• Commit to following through on tasks in a timely manner

We encourage the participation of individuals living outside of the United States. In addition, experience with conference planning is preferred.

Committee Roles & Responsibilities

Based on interests and strengths, the CCC’s 4-7 committee members will be assigned to one of the subcommittees listed below:

• Conference Theme (1-2 members; responsibilities include drafting the Call for Proposals, designing the conference logo, and organizing special events at the conference. Members will work with the other subcommittees to ensure that the theme is reflected purposefully throughout the program.)
• Conference Keynote Speakers (1-2 members; responsibilities include vetting a list of potential speakers with the CCC, working with the IARSLCE Board for approval, and managing logistics associated with keynote participation)
• Conference Program (2-3 members; responsibilities include the development of proposal review criteria, recruitment and training of qualified reviewers, finalizing reviewer recommendations, putting the session program together)

Application Timeline and Materials

If you are interested in serving on the CCC, please send the following to Susan Harris (scharris@usc.edu) no later than Friday, November 16:

• Statement of interest in and commitment to serving on the IARSLCE Conference Content Committee
• Your preference(s) for subcommittee assignment (ranked, if interested in more than one subcommittee)
• Current Resumé or CV

Applicants will be notified about their application results by Monday, November 26, and the first CCC call will take place at a mutually agreed upon time in early December.

The International Association for Research on Service-Learning & Civic Engagement Board Chair, Monica Kowal, will be hosting virtual discussions. Share your ideas and help us explore future directions for our association.

Session times and dates are:

Friday, 10/26 12:30 to 1:30 Mountain (2:30 to 3:30 Eastern)

Friday, 11/9 11:00 to Noon Mountain (1:00 to 2:00 Eastern)

Monday, 11/26 10:00 to 11:00 Mountain (Noon to 1:00 Eastern)

Monday, 12/7 11:00 to Noon Mountain (1:00 to 2:00 Eastern)

Thursday, 12/10 10:30 to 11:30 Mountain (12:30 to 1:30 Eastern)

Space is limited. Click here to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d44aea928a20-chat

Registration continues for the 2017 Conference! This year’s annual research conference will be held September 14-16, 2017 in Galway, Ireland and will visit the theme Gateways- Charting New Territories & Forging Authentic Relationships.

For all things conference – including the link to register, hotel information and more, please visit our conference website.

http://www.researchslce.org/conferences/

Spotlight On Pre-Conference Sessions

If you are looking to get a jumpstart on learning at the 2017 conference, we are offering a variety of preconference sessions on the morning of Thursday, September 14, which is the day that the conference begins. Preconference sessions are not included in regular registration and are $70.

Newly added to the preconference lineup and back by popular demand…The Practitioner-Scholars Forum!

The Practitioner-Scholars Forum (PSF) offers a dialogue and development space for community engagement professionals who see IARSLCE as a critical venue through which practitioners activate their scholarship and scholarly identities. The collaborative space session will provide participants with an opportunity to explore scholarly approaches to various practitioner areas.

To learn more about all the outstanding pre-conference sessions being offered this year, please visit our conference website.

http://www.researchslce.org/conferences/

Looking for the Schedule of Conference Presentations?

If you are looking for this year’s presentation schedule, the wait is almost over! We are putting the finishing touches on the program and cannot wait to share it! Please be on the lookout for a notification on or before July 31, which is when we are planning to upload the tentative schedule.

NUI Galway, Ireland
September 14-16th 2017

Conference Programme Chair: Lorraine McIlrath, NUI Galway

Conference Theme: Gateways- Charting New Territories & Forging Authentic Relationships

The annual IARSLCE conference is scholarly venue to disseminate new knowledge on service-learning and community engagement. The focus of presentations, symposiums, and keynotes is on research incorporating a variety of theoretical, methodologies, and perspectives. The conference also serves as a gathering place for networking and association business meetings for members. A significant component of the conference is the mentoring of graduate students and new faculty members interested in advancing their own research agendas in this field.

http://www.researchslce.org/conferences/