We are now accepting submissions for the 2019 conference!
To submit your work for presentation, or to register to attend the conference, click "Create Account" in the upper left corner to begin the process.
Submission Deadline: February 15, 11:59 PM EST
Have a question? Be sure to view our FAQ page!
Thinking of Presenting at or Attending the URC?
View the URC Information Guide for answers to questions you may have about the URC and the URC 2018 Program to get a feel for the types of presentations that were delivered.
The submission/registration fee for the 2019 URC remains $50.00 for students, faculty/staff, and guests not affiliated with Butler University.
Check this site often for conference updates and follow us on Twitter @TheButlerURC
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the URC.
URC 2019 Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker this year will be Dr. Bill McKinney. A nationally recognized teacher, scholar, and academic leader, Dr. McKinney currently serves as Senior Advisor for Regional Campus Affairs at Indiana University. Prior to joining IU, Dr. McKinney served as the ninth president of Valdosta State University (2012-2015), Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (2008-2012), founding Dean of the College of Humanities, Fine, and Performing Arts at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (2001-2008), Professor and Chairperson of Philosophy and Religion at Southeast Missouri State University (1997-2001), Assistant and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southeast Missouri State University (1993-1998), and Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky (1992-1993).
For more than 25 years, Dr. McKinney has been committed to the civic learning, democratic engagement, and the value of a liberal education. Much of his current work is informed by his belief that higher education institutions exist to preserve and proliferate democratic values and economic opportunities and that, consequently, they are also responsible for imparting those intellectual skills required to protect those values and provide those opportunities. As a result, Dr. McKinney served from 2015-2017 as Senior Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. He currently serves as chair of the American Association of State Colleges and University’s American Democracy Project (ADP) national steering committee. The ADP is a non-partisan network of more than 250 public colleges and universities focused on public higher education’s role in preparing the next generation of engaged citizens. Its members seek to provide its graduates with the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and experiences they need to be informed, engaged members of their communities.
Dr. McKinney is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Science in 1992 and his M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Science in 1989 from IU-Bloomington. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and his B.A. in History from Bucknell University in 1986. He has published or presented well over 100 papers, book chapters or reviews in such diverse topics as the philosophical nature of scientific experiments, environmental ethics, liberal education, and civic engagement. He is currently co-editing a special issue of the Journal of General Education on “The Public Purpose of General Education and Civic Engagement.”
Future URC Dates
April 17, 2020
April 9, 2021
April 8, 2022
April 14, 2023
April 12, 2024
