President Richard Brodhead will arrive in New York City today to tout DukeEngage to the likes of Sen. John McCain, Sen. Barack Obama and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Brodhead will speak to a crowd of 600 university, political, military and corporate leaders Friday at the ServiceNation Summit-a gathering of famous and not-so-famous individuals promoting community service and education on the nation's most pressing social issues. The Summit begins with a "9/11 Day of Service" as a national commemoration to those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Brodhead was one of few university presidents invited to speak at the Summit, and although he will only have the floor for a few minutes, he said the opportunity is nonetheless exciting and an honor.
"I was very proud for Duke that its president was asked to speak on this occasion, and it's because of the existence of DukeEngage," Brodhead said. "We have really tried to step forward to make [community service] something increasingly central to our whole idea of education."
Brodhead will speak along with the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Bentley College and Tulane University on the importance of service work in educational institutions.
"He will talk about DukeEngage and the connection between service and education," said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. "It needs to be infused into the very fabric of a student's educational experience."
He added that Brodhead was chosen to speak for his "significant stature" in terms of enhancing cultural service experiences at Duke-specifically helping to create the DukeEngage program, which Schoenfeld said "continues to get a lot of attention and admiration from people in higher education and service committees."
Eric Mlyn, director of DukeEngage and director of the Duke Center for Civic Engagement, said Brodhead's Summit invite proves DukeEngage is slowly but surely going to have a great impact on the University.
"What I find most exciting right now is the kinds of follow-ups that students are doing from their DukeEngage experiences-as in independent students and career choices," Mlyn said.
Last year, 46 students participated in Teach for America after graduation, and 2 percent went to work for non-educational non-profit organizations, said David Lapinski, assistant director of employer relations at the Career Center.
The Community Service Center has responded to Brodhead's presence at the Summit and student interest in civic engagement by communicating with community partners in Durham to publicize and promote awareness of the goals of ServiceNation, said Domonique Redmond, volunteer services coordinator at the CSC.
Redmond and Director of Sports Promotions Bart Smith have worked together to create a local ServiceNation project. They will recognize Duke employees who are current or former members of national service programs by distributing 150 free tickets to the Duke football team's Sept. 27 matchup against the University of Virginia.
Shuchi Parikh contributed reporting.
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