YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Campus and community members are invited to the Youngstown State University Community Engagement Symposium from 11:30 am to 4:30 p.m. April 15 in Kilcawley Center. 

YSU students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners will share their stories of engaging with the community through oral and poster presentations.

There will also be interactive activities, such as free vision screenings offered by Students for Sight and Sight for All United, Red Cross disaster readiness and a GuinFit public health pop-up that includes blood pressure screenings, teaching hands-only CPR and guidance on deep breathing to help manage stress.

“The symposium showcases campus community partnerships that address local, regional or global needs while providing students with impactful experiential learning and creating mutual benefits for students, faculty and the community,” said Amy Cossentino, associate provost and dean of the Sokolov Honors College. “We are grateful to partners for their investment in our students. The symposium truly offers something for everyone.”

The day will begin with a gratitude luncheon for community partners and conference presenters. The YSU writing team that curated the application for the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classification for Community Engagement will share some examples highlighted in the application.

Breakout sessions at 1 and 2 p.m. will include oral presentations taking place concurrently throughout Kilcawley Center. Samples of sessions include:

  • Campus Arts and Culture Forum featuring all four YSU museums and the planetarium.
  • Students sharing the ways they engaged with the community while on faculty-led, study-abroad experiences.
  • Information on doing business with YSU.
  • Perspectives from alumni who remain engaged in the community, including a look at YSU PenguinPulse, the University’s platform for finding and tracking community engagement opportunities.
  • A syllabus development workshop for community engaged courses.

A poster session at 3 p.m. will feature work from faculty and students, including more than 300 first-year honors students in the Campus Community Partnerships class. During this class, students worked with nearly 30 community partners to meet community needs identified by the partners.

The afternoon will culminate in an awards ceremony at 4 p.m. In addition to poster and YSU community engagement awards, a representative from Campus Community Coalition will present the Charles J. Ping Student Service Award and Legacy Award to a YSU student.

“We are thrilled to have a YSU student receive this prestigious honor for a third time, which is a testament to the strength of our campus community partnerships and impact on student success,” Cossentino said.

Members of the community are invited to attend any conference session from 1 to 4:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend. Parking is available in the Wick Avenue parking deck for $5 per vehicle.

A complete agenda is available HERE. Attendees should register HERE.