The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, along with the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, will focus on community-university engagement as part of Education Week 2008.

The event will start on Monday, Nov. 17, at 10 a.m. at the Baker Center with various speakers and an interactive forum. Community and university members will discuss ways to encourage UT to become more responsive to community needs and make community engagement a necessity.

"We need to see education in a different way," Gavin Luter, the Baker Center coordinator, said. "We need to move from the big science paradigm to an engaged university paradigm and not just research for research's sake."

The event hopes to inspire education outside the classroom. When students participate in community problem-solving, classroom learning and local knowledge become more relevant, Luter said.

We need to think intentionally of how academics and service tie together.
- Gavin Luter, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy coordinator

Robert Kronick of the Educational Psychology and Counseling will provide a model for UT's community-university engagement, called University-Assisted Community Schools.

Luter said, "The core values of the university are teaching, research and service. We need to think intentionally of how academics and service tie together."

The event will include various speakers, including the dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, a representative from United Way, Habitat for Humanity, students, principals from local schools and the Chancellor's office.

"We hope that Dr. Cheek will declare that UT has the responsibility to solve community needs," Luter said. "We need an institution committed to community engagement."

Henry Louis Taylor Jr., founder of the Center of Urban Studies at the University of Buffalo in New York, will speak on Thursday as the event's keynote speaker. Taylor, who has a master's degree in audiology and speech pathology from UT, will discuss university-community partnerships and academic civic engagement as a necessity in academia and through the core values of the university.

Taylor will meet with UT faculty at 10 a.m. and UT students at 2 p.m. in the University Center before his lecture at 5 p.m. There will also be a reception for Taylor at 4 p.m. in the UC prior to his lecture.