Volume 14 - Issue 3 - Home Page

May 2022 | Volume 14, Issue 3

Message from the Interim Associate Provost

Laurie Van Egeren, Interim Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement

Preparing Students for Civic and Social Responsibility

A key goal of any university is to prepare students to be effective and contributing citizens. By engaging with communities as part of their educational experience, students are better prepared for lifelong civic and social responsibility and strengthened in their capacity to collaborate democratically within society in ways that enact social change. At MSU, this engagement takes many forms, whether through academic coursework, applying institutional resources to address community challenges, or in engagement experiences beyond the classroom through MSU Days of Service or other volunteer opportunities. These community-engaged learning experiences are often a highlight of a student's college career, and stories of some of their experiences are featured in MSU's annual Community-Engaged Learning Index ... Read more

Featured MSU Engaged Scholars

With libraries hosting AI literacy programs, underserved youth will learn about the fundamentals of AI and envision how AI can benefit local industries.

Rare Butterfly Flourishes in the Most Unlikely of Environments

  • Nick Haddad, Ph.D.
  • Professor, Department of Integrative Biology
  • College of Natural Science
  • Senior Terrestrial Ecologist
  • W.K. Kellogg Biological Station

Butterflies and bullets. Thinking of one probably won't lead to thinking of the other. Nick Haddad, professor in MSU's Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Integrative Biology, and his students are working to change that by addressing the correlation between the St. Francis Satyr butterfly and the habitats they're calling 'home.'

Haddad, a butterfly scientist and conservation biologist, was first approached by the U.S. Army in 2002 because the ideal habitat for the Satyr, ironically, lies on an artillery training zone at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - the largest army installation in the United States.

"This butterfly is one of the rarest butterflies in the world with only ...

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A young, emerging sound artist learns DJing and turntablism at a community event at the Pontiac Public Library.

Making Spaces for Making Sounds

  • Emery Petchauer, Ed.D.
  • Associate Professor, Department of English
  • Coordinator, English Education Program
  • College of Arts and Letters
  • Associate Professor, Department of Teacher Education
  • College of Education

A long-time DJ, turntablist, beat-maker, and crate digger, Emery Petchauer loves to bring people into community through creative spaces. Referencing the philosophy of American author and social activist, Grace Lee Boggs, he says it's the critical connections among people, not the critical mass of people, that matters.

"It's really these creative practices that bring about most friendships in most of the places where I spend time when I'm not on the job, and sometimes on the job, as well," said Petchauer. "So making space for people to connect with one another through these kinds of activities is hardwired into how I operate—it grows from this kind of person that I am and how I try to ...

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Awards Ceremonies Honor Exceptional Community Engagement

Awards Ceremonies Honor Exceptional Community Engagement

The upcoming All-University Awards Convocation will recognize the achievements of faculty, academic staff, and graduate students for their outstanding efforts and contributions during an in-person event on Wednesday, May 11 in the Big Ten Rooms at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. Of the eight awards being presented, the Community Engagement Scholarship Award (CESA) will acknowledge community-based scholarship collaborations that positively impact both the community and scholarship. This year, the CESA will be bestowed upon Robin Lin Miller, professor of psychology, and her partner, MPact Global Action for Gay Men's Health and Rights, for their partnership implementing community-led strategies to address barriers to HIV care for gay and bisexual men and transgender women in African and Caribbean countries ...

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Looking for Community Partners

Collaboration and partnership with communities are at the core of engaged scholarship. In all of its work, University Outreach and Engagement emphasizes university-community partnerships that are collaborative, participatory, empowering, systemic, transformative, and anchored in scholarship. If you are a faculty or academic staff member wanting to establish a community partnership, University Outreach and Engagement may be able to help you. Our staff and researchers have connections across the state in areas such as education, mental health, human services, business, and government. For more information, contact Burton Bargerstock, Executive Director of the Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship, at (517) 353-8977 or bb@msu.edu.

Feedback

We would like to hear from you. Contact us with comments, suggestions, announcements, or "engaged scholar" project information for future e-newsletters. Send to: engaged.scholar@msu.edu.

Resources

MSU Graduate Certification in Community Engagement
This program prepares graduate students for careers that integrate scholarship with community engagement. It offers students a transcript notation indicating that they have completed the program.

Community Engagement Toolkits
Designed by the Center for Community Engaged Learning to guide and support MSU faculty, students, staff, and community partners.

Transformations in Higher Education: The Scholarship of Engagement Series
Available from Michigan State University Press

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