Join colleagues for connection, resource-sharing, and idea generation around civic and community engagement.
This gathering brought together community leaders and civic engagement professionals to learn skills and techniques for helping students to connect across differences, and to facilitate inclusive and participatory problem-solving.
Sue Rivera, President, Macalester College
Our network gatherings focus on bringing our coalition together to participate in workshops or facilitated discussions while also creating an informal space to learn from and share with peers. Our coalition has voiced that these informal connection spaces are one of the most valuable aspects of their membership and have generated partnerships, ideas, and ongoing conversations across our network. Gatherings are open to faculty, staff, students, and campus and community partners.
2025 Seed Talks
Read about our interactive virtual sessions exploring themes of food studies, civic engagement, and collaborative partnerships in higher education with the contributors of Gleanings from the Field: Food Security, Resilience, and Experiential Learning. Each event featured insights from chapter authors and provided space for attendees to engage in dialogue and reflection. You can watch these sessions at the YouTube links below.
Food Studies in Higher Education: View the Food Studies in Higher Education session here.
October 28, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CST
This session highlights strategies and practices for fostering civic engagement through the study of food, foodways, and food systems. Contributors share perspectives on how food studies in higher education can inspire critical thinking, experiential learning, and community connection. Attendees were invited to join the conversation and consider applications in their own contexts.
Participating Contributors:
- Todd Armstrong, Grinnell College
- Valentine Cadieux, Hamline College
- William Moseley, Macalester College
- Janaki Ranpura, Spatial Practitioner
- Dan Trudeau, Macalester College
- Jay Zambito, Beloit College
This session is ideal for community engagement practitioners, campus staff managing food-related programs, and faculty who teach connected to this topic.
Collaborations and Partnerships in Food-Based Community Engagement: View the Collaborations in Food-Based Community Engagement session here.
November 6, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CST
This session explores the transformative role of partnerships and collaborations in advancing community engagement, with a particular focus on food security, food systems, and resilience. Contributors discuss lessons learned from building sustainable, reciprocal relationships around food-related initiatives and share practices that strengthen both institutions and the communities they serve. Attendees had the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences and explore strategies for meaningful collaboration in food studies and beyond.
Participating Contributors:
- Sophie Hunt, St. Catherine University
- Jesse McClelland, Metropolitan State University
- Jennifer Tacheny, Sisters of St. Joseph Carondelet
- Vanessa Preast, Grinnell College
- William Moseley, Macalester College
- Dan Trudeau, Macalester College
In addition to campus staff and faculty, this session is beneficial for community organizations working in collaborative partnership.
Past Gatherings
Seed Coalition Members joined our February a Seed talk, featuring Keniese Evans and David Supp-Montgomerie with the University of Iowa Civic Dialogue Initiative. Evans and Supp-Montgomerie gave an overview of approaches and models for civic dialogue, and discussed their observations and lessons learned from their Dinner Table Dialogue event series, providing a template for dialogue opportunities led by students.
The Seed Coalition board and staff held conversations and working groups last fall which focused on the 2024 election. These conversations were an opportunity for everyone on our member campuses to come together, share best practices, prepare, and react. You can find more information on these gatherings and additional resources on the 2024 Election page.
If you have questions about this event or would like to suggest ideas for future network gatherings, please reach out to Kara.
