Retiring from SUNY Fredonia after 24 years, former Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Leonard E. Faulk will discuss the importance of student service and outside experience in a talk entitled “Making A Difference: The University and Civic Engagement” on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Williams Center. Admission is free and open to the public.
A reception to honor Dr. Faulk on his recent retirement will follow immediately after the speech. In lieu of gifts, attendees are asked to make a donation to the Len and Carole Faulk Graduate Scholarship Fund of the Fredonia College Foundation.
“Making A Difference: The University and Civic Engagement” will outline the ways in which service learning and experiential education can result in the long-term civic engagement of students. Dr. Faulk will share research and offer personal anecdotes that show how students have benefited from these lessons outside the classroom.
Although he officially retired prior to the 2005-2006 academic year, Dr. Faulk is currently the interim dean of Lifelong Learning and Graduate Studies at SUNY Fredonia. He is also the executive director of the SUNY Fredonia Center for Rural Regional Development and Governance, which he founded.
“My reason for retirement is to pursue what I call ‘differential engagement,’” said Dr. Faulk. “I would like to devote more time to my family, and to the myriad of civic activities that I am involved with.”
Dr. Faulk earned his Ph.D. in Social Welfare Policy from the University of Pittsburgh. He began his career at SUNY Fredonia in 1981 as an assistant professor of Political Science. Dr. Faulk served as interim vice president of academic affairs in 1997-1998, a role he would fill again in 2002-2003 and 2004-2005. He was graduate dean from 1998 to 2002 and associate vice president of academic affairs from 1998 to 2004.
Prior to his time at SUNY Fredonia, he worked on housing issues in Pittsburgh, Penn. and Washington, D.C., founded the Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation (CHRIC) in Mayville and served as small business development coordinator for the Chautauqua County Dept. of Planning and Development.
