Community-university forum is April 18-19 Are you interested in community theater, preserving the prairie, or growing rural populations by welcoming new cultural groups? Or would you like the chance to hear about local community writers writing their rural experiences, talk about boom and bust cycles in North Dakota, or connect with university faculty and students on new project ideas? If so, please join your UND colleagues and North Dakota community members at a first-ever community-university forum April 18-19 in Grand Forks. A collaboration of University of North Dakota faculty and staff and community partners has listened to ideas from community members about what interests them, and designed a program around themes of community-university collaborations, community diversity, community ecology, and community arts. A special feature will be presentation of preliminary results from state-wide research conducted by a dozen UND faculty and students about the information needs and interests of community residents. If you are still looking for topics of interest, there is a keynote speaker on arts collaborations invited through the new Arts and Democracy Program of North Valley Arts Council, and a performance of William Inge’s play "Bus Stop" put together by the Theatre Arts department as part of the forum program. There is also a community speak-out that gives participants a chance to say what’s on their mind. The forum is free and open to the public; no advance registration is required. Friday’s event, April 18, will be at University Place on University Avenue (parking is available in the Chester Fritz Auditorium parking lot). Activities on Saturday will be held in a community location, at The Link on Fourth Avenue and Cherry Street. Questions? Call us at 777.0675 or e-mail comunivforum@und.edu. See you at The Forum. Forum Program Friday, April 18 * 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., University Place, 3601 University Ave. Registration to the forum (free, informative materials included) 10 a.m., University Place * Session 1. Community ties of University centers * Session 2. Stories of refugees in North Dakota * Session 3. Partnering to promote community peace * Session 4. Community theater within the community 11:15 a.m., University Place * Session 5. Community partners speaking up * Session 6. Issues of Refugees in North Dakota * Session 7. Partnering to improve community services * Session 8. Creative writing within the community 12:30 p.m., University Place * Plenary discussion: community-university conversations in North Dakota 2 to 3 p.m., University Place * Session 9. Community-university projects with tribal community partners * Session 10. Cultural differences in rural communities * Session 11. Natural living in the community * Session 12. Community digital cultural repositories 3:15 to 4:15 p.m., University Place * Session 13. Model community-university partnerships * Session 14. The diversity of children in the community * Session 15. Building partnerships for the prairie * Session 16. A local collaborative arts center 4:30 p.m., Chester Fritz Auditorium, 3475 University Ave. Keynote speaker: Janet Brown, arts educator, advocate and organizer, and chair, Department of Performing and Visual Arts, Augustana College, S.D., "Cultural Growth: A Civic Dialogue" 7:30 p.m., Burtness Theatre Theatre performance: "Bus Stop" (free tickets for the first 50 forum registrants) Panel discussion: Backstage with the Arts, followed by a reception Saturday, April 19 8 a.m. to noon, The Link, 300 Cherry St. Registration to the forum (free, informative materials included) Idea fair: a showcase of community-university projects 9 a.m., The Link Staged reading: "Hello! Can You Hear Me Now?" followed by a discussion 10 a.m., The Link * Session 17: Making ends meet in Grand Forks: what’s next? * Session 18: Boom and bust in North Dakota communities 11 a.m., The Link * Session 19: Voices from the community: Grand Forks residents speaking up! * Session 20: Voices from the community: North Dakota residents speaking up! -- Lana Rakow, Director, Center for Community Engagement, lana.rakow@mail.und.nodak.edu, 7-2287