Engaged Scholars Initiative

Nomination Process and Materials

Submit your Nomination Materials Here

Preview the submission process below.

Completed nominations are to be submitted no later than March 4, 2019.

A complete nomination is required to include:

1. Interest letter from the nominee (not to exceed three pages) addressing/including the following:
   • Your commitment to and experience with community-engaged scholarship (teaching and/or research) and/or your experience as a community engagement professional. The critical issue(s) you are most concerned about in the field.
   • The significance of race, diversity, and equity in your own personal or professional life, especially as it relates to the complex and nuanced issues associated with community engagement.
   • Reflection on the identities and strengths you would contribute to this engagement collaborative (Longo & Gibson, 2016) cohort and what you hope to gain by participating in it.
   • Overview of a relevant engaged-scholarly project to be initiated, pursued, and/or completed during the term. (Applicable engaged-scholarship can include original research, creative activities, scholarship of teaching and learning, and/or program evaluation).
   • Any regional or national conferences you typically attend and/or professional networks in which you participate.
2. Nominee’s current curriculum vitae or resume focused on community engagement work (not to exceed eight pages)
3. Letter of support from president and/or chief academic/student affairs officer (not to exceed two pages) directly addressing the following:
   • Expressed support for the nominee’s participation in the Engaged Scholars Initiative.
   • Description of the institution’s support for engaged scholarship and any foreseen institutional benefits due to the nominee’s participation in the program.
   • Commitment to covering the nominee’s Engaged Scholars Initiative program fee and related travel expenses.

Nomination and Review Timeline

Review Process

A committee comprised of representatives from Campus Compact partner institutions and Campus Compact staff will review all applications and select up to ten Midwest Campus Compact Engaged Scholars for the 2019-2020 Cohort. All nominees will be notified of the committee’s decisions by April 3, 2019.

Criteria to be used in the review include:

• Institution’s membership in Campus Compact
• A demonstrated commitment to relational, critical, and democratic engaged scholarship in their professional role(s);
• Interest in developing their own practice, fostering collaboration, and acting as a resource for colleagues in the field;
• Willingness to participate fully in the entire ESI experience including the Midwest Campus Compact Conference, and other activities developed with the cohort; and
• Creation of a diverse group, including—but not limited to—demographic diversity and diversity in experience and roles on campus.

Who is an Engaged Scholar?

Engaged scholars are individuals who are committed to fostering collaborative environments for learning and discovery, creating a community that embraces the whole self of all members, building horizontal research relationships, questioning their own positionality, and continuing to develop and discover their identity (Warren, Oh Park, & Casey Tieken, 2016, p. 233-234).

Program Eligibility

For the purposes of this program, engaged scholars include both faculty and community engagement professionals (Dostilio, 2017; Dostilio & McReynolds, 2015; McReynolds & Shields, 2015). The ESI is well-suited for individuals from institutions located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin experienced producing scholarship who are:

• Full-time community engagement professionals in their early- to mid-career (3 to 8 years of experience),
• Full-time pre-tenure faculty (for those in a tenure track system), or
• Full-time faculty within their first 8 years (for those at contract-based systems).

We strongly encourage individuals who are representative of all identities (e.g., ethnic, gender, racial, religious, sexual, etc.), as well as those from all institutional types (e.g., community college, minority serving, private, public, etc.) to apply.

Engaged scholars who have been involved with communities and public issues but have not participated in community engagement-focused organizations are welcome.

Scholarly Work

Collaborative scholarly work can be done individually or in collaboration with others, and can focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning, the scholarship of discovery, the scholarship of integration, or the scholarship of application (Boyer, 1990). Projects can lead to traditional dissemination (e.g., academic publications,  conference presentations, etc.), creative works (e.g., public art, exhibitions, etc.), and educational and community resources (e.g., program evaluations, training materials, community assessment tools, etc.).

Throughout the experience, cohort members will collaborate with each other, staff from Campus Compact, and field leaders who support relational, critical, and democratic approaches. Engaged Scholars will identify strategic priorities jointly but may form subgroups to work on collaborative engagement projects such as integrative research, joint presentations, and publications.

We know that a great deal of change can happen over 18 months, but to the extent possible, we ask cohort members to bring a spirit of commitment to this experience. Additionally, cohort members will be encouraged to self-organize meetings located at other conferences or meetings (e.g., national, regional, and/or Campus Compact events, AAC&U, IARSLCE, Engaged Scholarship Consortium, Imagining America, etc.) or other equivalent spaces.

References

Boyer, Ernest L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered : Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, N.J. :Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching,

Dostilio, L. D. (2017). The professionalization of community engagement: Associations and professional staff. In T.D. Mitchell, T. Eatman, & C. Dolgan (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of service learning and community engagement. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Dostilio, L. D., & McReynolds, M. (2015). Community engagement professionals in the circle of service-learning and the greater civic enterprise. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 22(1), 113–117.

Longo, N. V., & Gibson, C. M. (2016). The collaborative engagement paradigm. In M. A. Post, E. Ward, N. V. Longo, & J. Saltmarsh (Eds.), Publicly engaged scholars: Next generation engagement and the future of higher education (p. 61 – 75). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

McReynolds, M., & Shields, E. (Eds.). (2015). Diving deep in community engagement: A model for professional development. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Campus Compact

Warren, M. R., Oh Park, S., & Casey Tieken, M. (2016). The formation of community-engaged scholars: A collaborative approach to doctoral training in education research. Harvard Educational Review, 86(2), 233–260.

The History of the Engaged Scholars Initiative

In 2008, Campus Compact convened an intentionally diverse group of ten engaged faculty and staff who named themselves the Engaged Scholars for New Perspectives in Higher Education. Over the last decade, they have published and presented collaboratively and taken on new leadership roles in their institutions and the field. Many consider the group’s initial retreat a formative experience: in their words, “[it] was a catalyst for developing my scholar practitioner identity,” “one of the most joyful experiences of my career,” and “[a central element of] my story of leadership development and what keeps me grounded in the work I do.”

In order to offer this kind of opportunity for more emerging leaders across the United States, Campus Compact is piloting two regional cohorts during 2019 – 2020 cohort period, one in the Easter Region and one in the Midwest Region.

Nominations for the 2019 – 2020 Midwest cohort are due March 4, 2019. More information can be found on the Nomination Process and Materials tab.

About Campus Compact of the Midwest

The Campus Compact of the Midwest Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Campus Compact and all regional and state Campus Compact affiliates are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our field and in our broader culture. We strive to make all events safe and welcoming spaces that value the contributions of a diversity of people, spark critical reflection, provide multiple ways to learn, and engage and recognizes various identities and their intersections, including but not limited to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socioeconomic status, education level, political affiliation, veteran status, age, and disability. Our goal is to create an environment that demonstrates this commitment and, to this end, we welcome proposals that bring a variety of perspectives, identities, and backgrounds to our conversation.