John Dewey Lectures at the University of Michigan
The Ginsberg Center at the University of Michigan is one of higher education's preeminent centers for civic engagement. Itts mission "is to engage students, faculty, and community members in learning together through community service and civic participation in a diverse democratic society."
One of the Ginsburg Center's most prominent activities is the sponsorship of the John Dewey Lectures. Although Dewey is generally identified with the University of Chicago and Columbia University, he began his academic career as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in 1884, and left for Chicago ten years later.
The Dewey lectures, begun in 2001 when Nancy Cantor was provost at Michigan, have featured some of the most prominent university voices in public engagement: Ira Harkavy (Penn), Judith Ramaly (Vermont), Barbara Holland (Indiana), George Sanchez (USC), Charles Payne (Duke), and the University of Minnesota's own Harry Boyte. Remarkably, Boyte has been the John Dewey lecturer twice, in 2003 and again in 2007.
The seven Dewey lectures are now online, at http://www.umich.edu/~mserve/faculty/lectures.html. They make rich reading.