Society for Values in Higher Education

Activities

We offer many opportunities to convene, both physically and virtually, regarding the arts of democracy—democratic dialogue, collective action, and social change—and their potential for higher education.

• In July 2005, we convened two groups – a group of academics at the historic Wingspread conference center and a morning group – on matters of religion, public life, and higher education. You can read the conference proceedings, A More Perfect Union or the draft Wingspread Declaration. You can take our draft discussion questions back to your campuses and start dialogues. You can also contribute to our discussion board on the Wingspread Declaration – comments are welcome!
• We support an email group of academics who share resources, announcements, and opportunities. You do not need to be a member of SVHE to be a part of this group. Just click here to join.
• We host “working groups," occasional theme-based gatherings. See the proceedings from Three-D Teaching and Learning: Discussion, Dialogue, and Deliberation (April 2003) and A More Perfect Union, the summary from this year’s working group, Religion and Public Life: Engaging Higher Education (July 2005).
• We sponsor sessions at conferences hosted by other national organizations. Over the past few years, we have hosted sessions at the Association for American Colleges and Universities’ (AACU) annual meeting, the American Association for Higher Education’s (AAHE) Learning to Change conference, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), and the Institute for College Student Values.
• For future gatherings and working groups, see events.
• For a 2003 Change magazine article on democratic dialogue, written by Democracy Project director Nancy Thomas and Democracy Project advisory committee member Bruce Mallory.

Please contact us if you or your campus is interested in starting programs or exploring opportunities through the Democracy Project.