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Invitation to a Conversation

March 18, 2008 - 8:03am — Renee Devereux

­The Society for Values in Higher Education has a long and rich history. Our mission distinguishes us as an organization that combines an academic and intellectual orientation with a genuine concern for issues of religious diversity, social justice, and democratic principles (www.svhe.org/node/1).­ Through various activities, publications, and our Fellows Meetings, the Society has provided intellectual nourishment and fellowship for ­its members and forwarded the aims of liberal education in the United States.

The Society, however, is at a crossroads. A declining and ag­ing members­hip raises serious questions about the future of the organization. At our Town Hall Meeting this year in Baltimore, it is imperative that Society members have a thoughtful and productive discussion about the future. What visions of the Society’s future do its members have? What programmatic strategies might be developed to recruit new members? How might recruitment efforts change the nature or character of the organization? Would we want such changes?

These are critical questions at this time. We obviously will not be able to answer them all fully in the time allotted for the Town Hall Meeting. Each person will be asked to keep his or her remarks to approximately three minutes so that everyone may be heard. Therefore, the Board of Directors is asking the membership to share online their perspectives about these iss­ues in order to begin the conversation.

In this online forum, please share with everyone your ideas about where the Society is headed, what it should do to remain viable in the future, and what aspects of the society you think are most important and must be preserved.

To join the conversation you must first log on to the SVHE site.  The log in menu is located on the left hand side of the screen towards the top.  If you do not have an account you may create one.  If you have any problems please email society@pdx.edu  for help.  Once logged on you may click "add new comment" which will be listed below in green once you are logged on to the site.