Call for Proposals: PHENND Conference: Democracy at the Crossroads: Higher Education’s Call to Action – Jan 9

Posted by PHENND on October 14, 2025

Call for Proposals: PHENND Conference: Democracy at the Crossroads: Higher Education’s Call to Action

PROPOSAL DEADLINE: Friday, January 9, 2026
LOCATION: La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA
CONFERENCE DATE: Friday, February 27, 2026 (Save the date!)

OVERVIEW:

We are looking for individuals who plan on attending the “PHENND Conference: Democracy at the Crossroads: Higher Education’s Call to Action” to be held Friday, February 27, 2026 to design and lead paper presentations and workshops. This gathering will be attended by 100-120 campus staff, faculty, students and community partners active in community service, service-learning, college success and campus-community partnership work. While primarily targeting individuals who are part of the 20+ colleges and universities involved in the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND), this event is also open nationally to practitioners of campus-community partnerships. Over the course of one day, between 3 and 5 elective choices will be offered during each of three sessions. Therefore, we are looking for a total of roughly 10-15 workshops and/or paper presentations.

There will be four tracks at the conference based on the key themes of the conference:

—Civic Dialogue: Sessions that explore how higher education can foster civic discourse and prepare students to engage respectfully and critically with differing perspectives.

—Community Engagement as Democratic Practice: Sessions highlighting service-learning, community-based research, or partnerships that model democratic values such as collaboration, reciprocity, and equity.

—Nonpartisan Student Voter Engagement: Sessions focused on strategies for increasing student participation in elections through nonpartisan education, coalition-building, and institutional support for civic learning.

—Higher Education and the Future of Democracy: Sessions that examine higher education’s evolving role in shaping democratic societies (locally, nationally, and even globally), including the opportunities and responsibilities that come with that role.

Learn more and submit your proposal here.