Byrne Seminars
The RU Engaged Byrne Seminar Series began in 2026 with funding from a Chancellor Challenge award. Each RU Engaged Byrne Seminar focuses on a different topic that is selected in close collaboration with community partners. After learning together in the classroom during the beginning of the semester, students spend their spring break week in New Brunswick, residing in a hotel while volunteering and learning in the community.
In 2026, students spent eight weeks in the classroom learning about community food security and community gardening. The students then spent spring break together in New Brunswick, partnering with community food security organizations to build community gardens, work in a food pantry, and prepare meals for distribution. Student feedback about the trip was positive–students reported feeling more connected to each other and to the New Brunswick Community.
In 2027, RU Engaged will offer three Byrne Seminars for first year students only, focused on different social issues described below.
Applications for 2027 RU Engaged Byrne Seminars will open in late September 2026. In the meantime, students can sign up to be added to the mailing list here:
2027 Seminars
Community Food Security
After learning about community food security in this interactive RU Engaged Byrne Seminar, you’ll dive into community-based food projects during a weeklong Spring Break week spent in New Brunswick. This spring break service work will focus on reducing food waste in the New Brunswick Public Schools and improving community food security.
Community Gardens
After learning about urban gardening and community food systems in this interactive RU Engaged Byrne Seminar, you’ll dive into community-based gardening and emergency food projects during a weeklong Spring Break trip in New Brunswick. While you continue to learn about community food security and how non-profits and government address hunger in the community, you’ll participate in service-learning opportunities.
Stories of Place
Through this course, students will learn about the principles and practices of reciprocal community-based learning and sustainable community engagement while developing skills in interviewing, oral history, and digital storytelling. During an immersive spring break experience in New Brunswick, students will partner with the coLAB Arts Story Bus to collect stories from local residents about their lives, neighborhoods, and civic aspirations. Working collaboratively with community organizations, students will transform these interviews into digital stories that highlight the everyday practice of democracy, the richness of local history, and the power of storytelling.