A national conference on citizen service that opened last night at Columbia University with a discussion by John McCain and Barack Obama features many higher-education leaders as it continues today.

Seven college presidents were scheduled to speak about such topics as the role of service in disaster response and the importance of global service: Richard H. Brodhead of Duke University, Scott S. Cowen of Tulane University, John J. DeGioia of Georgetown University, Amy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania, JoAnn W. Haysbert of Langston University, Gloria C. Larson of Bentley College, and Jerry Sue Thornton of Cuyahoga Community College. The event, the ServiceNation Summit, is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

In a keynote speech this afternoon, Mr. Brodhead discussed the role of colleges and universities in encouraging students to serve. “Service isn’t a monopoly of the well educated,” he said, “but service has a special place in higher education, and I see that role growing.”

He described the recent success of DukeEngage, a wide-ranging service program that this past summer financially supported more than 360 students’ projects around the country and the world.

Ms. Larson announced a partnership between Bentley and City Year, a national youth-service organization. Students who “give a year” — the name of the program — will be eligible for scholarships, academic credit, and internship assistance from Bentley. —Sara Lipka