MSU UOE | Learning Opportunities

MSU has developed a variety of programs that provide opportunities to learn about and reflect upon engaged scholarship. Designed to meet the varying needs of college students through faculty members, the programs promote professional development and enhance the student experience.

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• Tools of Engagement Undergraduate Modules
• The Tools of Engagement are a series of online modules designed for use by faculty with undergraduate students. The Tools introduce the concept of university-community engagement, help students develop community-based research and engagement skills, and provide foundational training for the next generation of engaged scholars. The five modules that comprise Tools focus on issues including working effectively in groups, creating and maintaining successful partnerships, and learning negotiation techniques, among others. They encourage students to critically reflect on the content, and both provide them with concrete examples that illustrate abstract concepts and encourage them to come up with their own real-life instances. The modules are available for MSU faculty to incorporate into their coursework. Using their MDU Net IDs, instructors can access assessments, in-class activities, and other resources. For more information, visit the Tools of Engagement Web site.

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• Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement
• Offered beginning fall 2009, the program prepares MSU graduate students for academic careers that integrate scholarship with community engagement. The program is tailored for students in cooperation with their graduate advisor and the Office of the Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement, and includes both instruction and a mentored experience in community engagement. Upon completion of the program, participants receive a Certificate in Community Engagement and a notation on their academic transcript indicating that they have completed the program. Students from all colleges are eligible to take the program. To learn more, visit the Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement Web site for information about the program.

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• Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop
• The Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop, which takes place in conjunction with the annual National Outreach Scholarship Conference each fall, is an intensive professional development program for advanced doctoral students and early career faculty from across the U.S. and around the world. It provides participants with background literature, facilitated discussion, mentoring, and presentations designed to increase their knowledge and enhance their practice of community engaged scholarship. Selection for the Workshop is competitive. Participants must be nominated and must submit a proposal for a community engaged research project in order to be considered. See the Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop pages of the National Center for the Study of University Engagement Web site for details.

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• Engaged Scholar Speaker Series
• The Engaged Scholar Speaker Series brings nationally renowned experts and leaders to MSU to discuss the theory and practice of community-engaged scholarship with faculty, graduate students, and interested communities. The sessions are free and open to the public, and most will be made available as archived streamed video on the Web. Visit the Engaged Scholar Speaker Series pages of the National Center for the Study of University Engagement Web site for more information.

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• The Evaluation Circle
• The Evaluation Circle is a series of workshops on evaluation theory and practice for the MSU and broader Michigan community. There will be two workshops each semester, beginning in the fall of 2009. These workshops are designed to cover evaluation topics that are often not addressed in the typical graduate curriculum. The workshops are free and open to all members of the MSU community. Visit The Evaluation Circle page of the Community Evaluation and Research Center (CERC) Web site for more information.