Carolina Center for Public Service - Public Service and Engagement at Carolina

Faculty Engaged Scholars Program

Overview

The Faculty Engaged Scholars Program is an initiative of the Carolina Center for Public Service and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Service and Engagement to advance faculty involvement in the scholarship of engagement. The first class of eight Faculty Engaged Scholars was selected in October 2007 to participate in learning about and pursuing community engagement through scholarly endeavor. The first year of the program is from January to December 2008. It is a two-year program with a new cohort of at least five Scholars entering each year. Currently, Dr. Ronald Strauss serves as faculty director and Mrs. Lucille Webb as community director.

Program Goals

The goals of the program are to:

Recognize and reward faculty involved in engaged scholarship.

Create and sustain a community of engaged scholars from diverse perspectives.

Promote the scholarship of engagement at UNC-Chapel Hill across disciplines.

Continue to build UNC-Chapel Hill as an institution committed to and demonstrating strong university-community relationships.

Program Expectations

In the first year, Scholars participate in an advanced curriculum, including a two-day orientation, four half-day sessions, and a symposium. The curriculum covers background and current developments in the work of engaged scholarship at the global, national, state and local levels. The curriculum is highly interactive and experiential, involving field visits, exposure to a number of ongoing projects, and discussions with community members and faculty partners. Sessions address such topics as funding and dissemination of engaged scholarship, navigating disciplinary expectations while addressing community needs, and partnering with local communities in North Carolina and beyond.

During the first year, Scholars apply what they are learning to develop a proposal in partnership with the community. (Note: Community can be defined broadly, including grassroots, non-profit and business organizations; educational and governmental agencies; neighborhoods or individuals with a common interest or identity.)

In the second year, Scholars will implement their proposal resulting in a scholarly project or a product of disciplined inquiry (this can be a new project or an extension of ongoing engaged scholarship).

Program Benefits

Each Scholar receives the following:

Stipend of up to $7,500 per year, for each of the two years (maximum $15,000).

Interactions with like-minded faculty from a variety of disciplines around the issues associated with service and engaged scholarship.

Support for their engaged scholarship from faculty and community partners who have experience in engaged scholarship.

Information on engaged scholarship via a series of workshops, panels, and case studies by leading UNC faculty, national experts and funding program officers.

Learn more about the inaugural class of Faculty Engaged Scholars.
Learn more about eligibility and the application process.