BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University will host a regional conference titled "Turning Passion into Action: a Conference for Aspiring Public Service Professionals" from Thursday, Oct. 27 to Sunday, Oct. 30, on campus. 

City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick will deliver the keynote address at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, in the Nelson Mandela Room in the University Union, on campus. The talk is free and open to the public. Myrick was sworn into office in January 2012, and at age 24 became Ithaca’s youngest mayor and first mayor of color.

More than 25 college students from across the Northeast were selected to attend the all-expenses-paid conference, which provides an opportunity for underrepresented minority college students to engage with University faculty, staff, student groups, alumni and community organizations through lectures, workshops, networking events and social-cultural activities. The student attendees also have the opportunity to speak with representatives from on and off campus about how to pursue careers in public service.

The event is co-sponsored by Binghamton University’s College of Community and Public Affairs; the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; the Department of Public Administration; the University Convocations Committee; the Public Policy and International Affairs Program; and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration.

For questions or more information about the conference, contact Joann Lindstrom of the Department of Public Administration at 607-777-9178 or via email at jlindstr@binghamton.edu.