Metropolitan State University of Denver faculty and staff members are encouraged to learn more about the Campus Compact Engaged Scholar Initiative. The program aims to develop a diverse group of early-career faculty and staff members who want to strengthen their critical community-engaged scholarship and lead equity-focused change within their institutions and communities.
Employees who would like to be nominated for the Engaged Scholar Initiative are invited to send a letter of interest by Monday, using the outline provided by Campus Compact, to [email protected] so a letter of support from the provost can be obtained prior to the April 15 deadline.
Shalini Srinivasan, Ph.D., assistant professor of Chemistry, says being an Engaged Scholar is about “legitimizing and becoming more accepting of the role of public and civic engagement.”
When applying for the position, Srinivasan hoped to learn ways to “integrate prospects for service and engagement” in lower-level courses. Now that she is wrapping up her term, she has implemented a new pedagogical tool in lower–division and capstone courses. For example, in her lower-level course, Srinivasan assigned students the task of writing a letter to an elected official or organization regarding a science-based or sociocultural issue that the student was passionate about. In her capstone course, she connected with Denver Public Schools to have an Advanced Placement chemistry class review an assignment submitted by MSU Denver students to distill a complicated topic. Some of her capstone students then served as panelists to answer questions posed by the AP chemistry students that included inquiries about college life in general, chemistry at MSU Denver and advice on stress management.
Srinivasan said her opportunity to participate as an Engaged Scholar was “incredibly humbling and always clarified the profound extent to which I still need to grow both personally and professionally.”
“These moments of clarity would become ever so poignant with each interaction I had with my cohort of Engaged Scholars,” she said. “This is a remarkable group of individuals who are entrenched in trickle-up social justice, collectively honored all of our emotions during every meeting and provided a true safe space last year, when it was most necessary.”
Expectations according to Campus Compact require Engaged Scholars to:
- Attend and actively participate in every aspect of the initiative. This includes virtual retreats, bimonthly virtual meetings and any other mentoring meetings (individual or small-group collaborations).
- Complete required preparation such as pre-readings, assessment and assigned tasks.
- Have active communication with program directors and fellow cohort scholars, ensuring high levels of engagement and collaboration.
- Pursue a scholarly project.
- Submit all program reports by the due dates.
Srinivasan also adds that necessary qualities to succeed include readiness to engage with unpalatable ideas, eagerness to learn, practicing humility and keeping an open mind to those in other disciplines and fields.
For more information on participating in the Engaged Scholar Initiative, visit Campus Compact.