Community Development and Applied Economics will celebrate 20 years of community engagement through education, research and service learning with a series of events on Oct. 20-24 highlighted by a keynote address by former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean.

Dean, a James Marsh Professor-at-Large, will join the department throughout the four-day celebration, including Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 5-7:30 p.m. in the Billings Center, where he will deliver his address “Community as a Foundation for Change.” A free reception with music will follow.

The next day at 6:30 p.m. in the Living and Learning Fireplace Lounge, Dean will moderate a roundtable discussion titled “A Peace Corps Evening: the Challenge of International Development,” featuring Peace Corps volunteers who will talk about their experiences with students.

Other events include a free screening of the movie Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. in Fleming, Room 101. The documentary details the destructive impacts of human plastic consumption and touches on many of the issues that CDAE Professor David Conner and his students encountered while gathering information and student opinions on the implementation of UVM’s water bottle ban policy.

“I am pleased to share our 20 years of education, scholarship and outreach with the community at large,” said Professor Jane Kolidnsky, chair of CDAE. “CDAE starts with community.”

The week of celebration ends on Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. in the Mansfield Room of the Davis Center with a “Community Goat Roast Hits the Slopes!” event. For a cost of $13.50, participants can enjoy a meal catered by Sodexho featuring Vermont roasted goat, Chappelle Farm potato salad, Vermont greens, vegetarian lasagna with Vermont butternut squash, Vermont apple crisp with Cabot cheese and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and more.

See the full schedule of events on the Community Development and Applied Economics website.