Ohio University to bring campus, community together for Engage OHIO 2026 Symposium

Ohio University will host the 2026 Engage OHIO: Community and Place-based Engagement Symposium on Nov. 5–6 at the Ohio University Inn and Conference Center, bringing together faculty, staff, students, community partners and other regional leaders to explore how universities and communities can work together to advance learning, strengthen communities and serve the public good.

The full program and registration details can be found on the Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment’s website at: https://www.ohio.edu/center-teaching-learning/programs-events/community-place-based-symposium.

The annual symposium celebrates the depth and breadth of community engagement and place-based learning across Ohio University, its partner communities and beyond. The 2026 program will feature interactive sessions, panels, workshops and mobile experiences focused on reciprocal partnerships, experiential learning, nonprofit-capacity building, collaborative problem-solving and the ways teaching and scholarship can connect more intentionally with the places where people live and work.

“Engage OHIO is an opportunity to bring everyone into the same room to build the relationships that can grow into partnerships, and learn from the collaborations that are already working,” said Courtney Lefebvre, interim executive director of Ohio University’s Center for Community Impact and a member of the symposium planning committee. “The symposium is designed not only to celebrate what our partners and colleagues are already accomplishing, but also to create space for new connections, ideas and collaborations.”

The symposium opens Thursday, Nov. 5, with the Community Engagement Awards and Place-Based Teaching and Learning Plenary at the Ridges Auditorium, featuring Plenary speakers Joe Brehm and Bryn Sowash of Rural Action. 

The awards recognize the contributions of community organizations and university colleagues who help create meaningful opportunities for learning, collaboration and community impact.

2026 Community Engagement Awards

The 2026 Community Engagement Award recipients include:

• OHIO Partner of the Year: Southern Wayne Advocacy Council
• Athens Partner of the Year: Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio
• Chillicothe Partner of the Year: Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
• Eastern Partner of the Year: Captina Conservancy
• Lancaster Partner of the Year: Fairfield County Common Pleas and Juvenile Court
• Zanesville Partner of the Year: Zane Grey Elementary School
• Community Engaged Faculty Award: Dr. Pamela Kaylor, professor of instruction in communication studies at Ohio University Lancaster. 
• Community Engaged Administrator Award: Larry Hayman, director of legal engagement and pre-law programs in Ohio University’s Center for Law, Justice and Culture.
• Community Engaged Administrator Award: Sarah Simmons, communications and external relations manager at Ohio University Southern.
• Campus Community Coalition Charles J. Ping Student Service Award: Ava Wood, HTC ’27.

You can read more about the Community Engaged faculty and administrator award winners here.

On Friday, the program will begin with a student poster session and continue with concurrent sessions focused on best practices within community engaged teaching and learning, as well as nonprofit capacity building. The afternoon will take the participants beyond the conference room through a series of mobile experiences demonstrating partnerships in action and highlighting best practices in community engagement at campus and community sites. 

Engage OHIO welcomes students, faculty, staff, and community partners interested in campus-community partnerships to attend. The symposium creates space for people to share their knowledge and experience, encounter new perspectives, and explore what they might build together.

Register for Engage OHIO 2026

Registration is now open for the Engage OHIO 2026: Community and Place-based Engagement Symposium. The symposium will be held Nov. 5–6 at the Ohio University Inn and Conference Center in Athens.

You can register here for the Engage OHIO 2026: Community and Place-based Engagement Symposium.

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