Virginia ’26 Institute on Teaching Social Action – Nov 5-6

Posted by Bonner Foundation on October 20, 2026

We would like to invite you to apply to the registration-free Virginia ’26 Institute on Teaching Social Action on November 5-6, 2026, hosted by the Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. Today, many college courses teach about democracy and change, but few courses provide students the opportunity to learn by doing them. The Virginia ’26 Institute meets this need by providing faculty the necessary training to teach social action. This fall, 50 faculty who have completed the Institute will be teaching social action courses.

Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply; however, we want to restrict participation to those faculty who are committed to implementing this experiential social action course model in the 18 months following the Institute.

The Virginia ’26 Institute will be hosted by Dr. Brooke Dinsmore from Christopher Newport U., along with Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Professor Emeritus from San José State University, who developed a social action course in 2006, and has taught it 30 times. Checkout our website to learn more about teaching social action.

The Virgina ’26 Institute will run from Thursday, November 5th, 9 am-4:30 pm, and Friday, November 6th, 9 am-3:30 pm; lunch will be covered during the Institute. There is no charge for the Virgina ’26 Institute, but you are responsible for hotel and transportation.

The application deadline is Friday, October 23, 2026.

Learn more and apply here.