LBJ School News Brief

RGK Center hosts international summer institute on civil society

This summer the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service coordinated its second Study Civil Society Summer Institute. The exchange program brought eight Mexican and Canadian students to UT Austin to study civil society and the nonprofit sector to UT Austin during the first summer academic session. The students took two UT Austin graduate courses, titled “Contemporary Issues in Civil Society” and “U.S. Perspectives on Civil Society: Philanthropy, Volunteerism, and the Nonprofit Sector.” In addition to coursework, the classes consisted of fieldtrips to Central Texas nonprofit organizations and weekly colloquiums with guest lecturers.

“The program was designed to balance theoretical study with practical experience through a broad array of activities,” said RGK Center academic programs coordinator Steven Smith.

The RGK Center administers the institute in conjunction with the Bilateral Civil Society Education Partnership and the Trilateral Civil Society Education Consortium. Both partnerships were established in 2002 to focus on a student-centered program of exchanges, professional and internship experience, joint research projects, and development of trilateral educational curricula, conferences, and institutional networks. The institute receives support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the RGK Center.

The Trilateral Civil Society Education Consortium includes three Mexican universities – Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Colegio Mexiquense in Toluca, and Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas; two Canadian universities – Carleton University and the University of Victoria; and two universities in the United States – Indiana University and UT Austin. The Bilateral Civil Society Education Partnership consists of UT Austin and four Mexican universities – Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Universidad de las Americas–Puebla, Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey–Ciudad de Mexico, and El Colegio Mexiquense, A.C.

The RGK Center plans to coordinate a 2006 Study Civil Society Summer Institute, and welcomes applicants from partner universities in Canada and Mexico as well as the UT Austin Graduate School.

For more information, visit http://www.studycivilsociety.org or contact Steven Smith at steven.smith@mail.utexas.edu.

25 August 2005

Comments to: lbjweb@uts.cc.utexas.edu

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