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Events

Events – WVU Center for Resilient Communities
Eberly College of Arts & Sciences · West Virginia University

The CRC hosts public events, symposia, dialogues, and training opportunities that bring people together around urgent questions facing West Virginia and beyond. Join the conversations, relationships, and shared learning that shape our work.

April 23–24, 2026

CRC Symposium — Let's Grow Together

The 2026 CRC Symposium "Let's Grow Together" brings students, scholars, and community partners into a shared space to celebrate the transformative power of community engaged research. Each year, the symposium highlights long-term project partnerships that have grown through university–community collaboration and creates opportunities for new conversations, friendships and ideas to take root. In doing so, the togetherness at the symposium reminds us that resilient communities are cultivated through meaningful relationships, shared knowledge, and collective action.

Brooks Hall, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Thursday, April 23  ·  Symposium Events  ·  4:00pm – 7:00pm
4:00 – 5:00pm
Open House and Networking at the CRC
309 Brooks Hall
5:00 – 6:00pm
Recognition, Awards Ceremony and Celebration
309 Brooks Hall
6:00 – 7:00pm
The Story of the Friends of Deckers Creek
Artistic performance by Eddie "Spaghetti" Maier in collaboration with Friends of Deckers Creek
309 Brooks Hall
Friday, April 24  ·  Symposium Events  ·  9:00am – 3:00pm
9:00 – 9:30am
Plenary Lecture
Brooks Hall 325
9:45 – 10:15am
Place & Belonging Research Team
Making A Home
The Place and Belonging team will present on housing challenges and their survey with WVU students to better understand how cultural life, wellbeing, and community connections shape experiences of home in Appalachia.
10:30 – 11:00am
Livelihoods & Grassroots Development Research Team
Diverse Economies
The Livelihoods and Grassroots Development team presents on cooperative enterprises and grassroots economic initiatives while supporting emerging solidarity economy networks and community-led development efforts across West Virginia.
11:15 – 11:45am
Climate & Environmental Justice Research Team
Streams of Solidarity
The Climate and Environmental Justice team presents research with community partners to map water quality and flooding challenges in West Virginia while strengthening conversations around environmental governance and resilience in West Virginia.
11:45am – 12:45pm
Lunch Break
12:45 – 1:15pm
Food Justice, Rights & Sovereignty Research Team
Nourishing Futures
The Nourishing Futures team expanded research and partnerships addressing food insecurity by mapping food system resources, developing county assessments in Clay and Marion Counties, and advancing policy dialogue on equitable food access.
1:20 – 1:50pm
Transforming School Meals Research Team
Farm to School
The Transforming School Meals team conducted statewide research on Farm to School initiatives and is developing tools and case studies to help Fayette County schools strengthen local food procurement and support regional agricultural economies.
2:00 – 2:30pm
Cultivating Youth Resilience Leaders Research Team
Vibrant Transformations
The Cultivating Youth Resilience Leaders team is building a statewide youth leadership initiative by researching leadership programs, forming partnerships with educators, and preparing a Youth Resilience Summit for young community leaders.
2:30 – 3:00pm
Closing Reflections

The Resilient Communities Engaged Research Dialogues Series

The Resilient Communities Engaged Research Dialogues Series welcomes community-engaged scholars to share insights on their approaches, orientations, and efforts to generate knowledge and contribute to social transformation. We elevate conversations on key concepts and methodologies used by community engaged scholars while fostering an uplifting atmosphere.

All dialogues will take place online. Viewers and listeners can tune in via Zoom or in-person at the CRC in Brooks Hall. Zoom details will be provided to registered participants.

Advance registration is required. You can register here.

About the Series

Community-engaged scholars are invited to share insights on their approaches, orientations, and efforts to generate knowledge and contribute to social transformation.

We elevate conversations on key concepts and methodologies used by community engaged scholars while fostering an uplifting atmosphere.


Online via Zoom In-person · Brooks Hall CRC Registration Required
Register Here

Vibrant Transformations:
West Virginia Youth Resilience Leadership Summit

The Vibrant Transformations: West Virginia Youth Resilience Leadership Summit brings together young leaders, educators, community organizations, and mentors from across the region to explore how youth can prepare for the future and contribute to vibrant transformations in their communities. The summit will create an encouraging environment to share experiences, learn practical tools for community action, build networks of support, and explore pathways for contributing to the well-being of West Virginia.

At its core, the summit affirms a simple but powerful idea: young people are not just the future of their communities—they are active protagonists in shaping them today.

July 23–26 · West Virginia University, Morgantown

Summit Goals

The Youth Resilience Leadership Summit seeks to:

Cultivate youth capacities

Young people develop confidence, skills, and relationships that support their continued engagement in community initiatives.

Strengthen regional networks

Participants build connections with peers, mentors, and organizations working toward vibrant communities.

Share practical knowledge

Participants exchange experiences and strategies for addressing local challenges.

Inspire vibrant transformations

Participants leave the summit with ideas, partnerships, and motivation to contribute to their communities.

Expand pathways to higher education and lifelong learning

Participants are introduced to higher education as a space for growth helping them imagine new educational pathways that support both personal development and the well-being of their communities.

Geographies of Possibility:
Engaged Research, Pedagogies and Partnerships in Hard Times

"...make hope possible rather than despair convincing." — Raymond Williams

Early Career Scholar Convergence

We are living through what many simply call hard times. Across regions and institutions, people are confronting overlapping economic, ecological, and political crises that strain livelihoods and unsettle long-standing assumptions about the future. Yet hard times are also moments of conjuncture when communities organize, experiment, and build new forms of solidarity.

For scholars committed to community-engaged research, the question is not only how to analyze these transformations, but how to accompany communities in the collective work of imagining and creating more just and resilient futures.

October 8–10
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Hosted by WVU Center for Resilient Communities
Keynote Speaker
Rajesh Tandon
Founder of PRIA & UNESCO Chair of Social Responsibility

A world-renowned leader in participatory research and community-engaged scholarship, Rajesh Tandon brings decades of experience advancing socially responsible higher education and grassroots knowledge co-creation.

Conference Details

October 8–10
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Early Career Scholar Convergence
Speakers list in formation