Member of Visiting Fellows program to visit AU

Submitted by Aurora University

Aurora University has invited Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Stephen Vetter, an internationally renowned expert on helping poor communities overcome poverty, for an intensive weeklong visit from March 25-28.

Vetter will speak to classes and meet with students and faculty members throughout the week to share his knowledge in the areas of service learning, volunteering and community development.

“Stephen Vetter will be a perfect fit for Aurora University. Our students will have a chance to meet a world-class expert with a deep knowledge of social responsibility, helping to create better understanding and new connections between the academic and nonacademic worlds,” said Ted Parge, executive vice president of AU.

“We’re delighted that Stephen will also have time to get to know our campus and to explore in depth how the classroom and campus relate to the broader society.”

Vetter’s work has long been focused on helping poor communities and their leaders overcome poverty. He has held executive leadership positions in U.S. government agencies, foundations and the nonprofit sector. He is currently the president and CEO of Partners of the Americas, the largest inter-American volunteer organization committed to improving the life conditions of children and families living in poverty.

Prior to this position, Vetter served as president of Eureka Communities, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the leadership skills of nonprofit organizations combating poverty.

He worked for the inter-American Foundation for 21 years in the capacities of interim president, program vice president, director of outreach, and foundation representative to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico and Brazil.

Vetter has advised a number of major foundations, including the Ford, Mott and Annie E. Casey Foundations, the White House, the U.S. Congress and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows program, which is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges in Washington, D.C., brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders, and other professionals to campuses across the United States for a weeklong residential program of classes, seminars, workshops, lectures, and informal discussions.

For 35 years, the Visiting Fellows have been introducing students and faculty members at liberal arts colleges to a range of perspectives on life, society, community, and achievement. The Visiting Fellows program is available to all four-year colleges and universities.

For more information, visit CIC’s website at www.cic.edu/visitingfellows.