2026 Engaged Scholarship Symposium
| When |
Mar 20, 2026
from 09:00 AM to 03:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Where | Founders Union (Shelby Campus) |
| Contact Name | Henry Cunningham |
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This annual event brings together students, faculty, and community partners in a day of programming focusing on collaborative efforts for engaged research, teaching and outreach. The program will include a presentation of this year's Outstanding Community Engagement Awards and the Josh Smith Memorial Sustainability Award for a community partner who has made significant contributions to UofL's sustainability initiatives. Breakfast and lunch included in free registration.
Keynote Speaker: Byron White
For more than two decades, Dr. White was a higher education administrator spearheading community engagement initiatives at public and private urban universities. Most recently, he was Associate Provost for Urban Research at UNC Charlotte, where he developed and led a unit called urbanCORE (Community-Oriented Research and Engagement) that facilitated award-winning engaged research partnerships between faculty and community partners. Previously, he was Vice President for University Engagement at Cleveland State University, Vice Chancellor for Economic Development for the University System of Ohio, and the founding Executive Director of the Eigel Center for Community-Engaged Learning at Xavier University in Cincinnati.
In addition to his work in higher education, Dr. White led community-based, collective impact organizations in Chicago and Cincinnati. He began his career as a newspaper journalist, serving as the Urban Affairs Team Editor and an Editorial Writer for the Chicago Tribune, where he eventually became Senior Manager for Community Relations, and as the Editorial Page Editor of The Cincinnati Post.
Dr. White holds a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago. He is author of the forthcoming book, The Community-Centric Path to Rebuilding Trust in Higher Education, to be published in May 2026 by Routledge and Campus Compact.
