PULLMAN, Wash. – Nine faculty have been selected to the first cohort of Community Engagement Faculty Fellows at Washington State University. They represent eight disciplines, five colleges and four campuses.
“We had an excellent response to the program from faculty across the WSU system,” said Melanie Brown, Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) director. “I was very impressed by the quality of the applications and the level of interest, including the strong motivation of faculty to be engaged.”
Funded by a WSU seed grant for student success, the fellowship will develop curriculum-based service learning opportunities for students. Starting in February, fellows will participate in interactive workshops and a campus-community forum prior to designing new service learning courses to be offered in year 2017-18.
Fellow Mike Berger said he looks forward to “developing a service learning course that will enhance the experience and success of WSU Vancouver undergraduate students.” A clinical assistant professor in the School of the Environment and Biological Sciences, he piloted a service learning project that prompted him to apply for the fellowship.
“I was impressed by how much my students learned from the experience and how much they enjoyed it as well,” he said.
Molly Kelton said she looks forward to tying her WSU Pullman research and teaching interests together through community engagement.
“As an educational researcher, I investigate learning as something that extends beyond classroom walls,” said the assistant professor in teaching and learning. “As a teacher educator, I’m looking for new opportunities for my students to develop their teaching skills in authentic contexts. The fellows program is the perfect opportunity for me to pursue these passions together.”
The other 2017 fellows are: Deborah Christel, WSU Pullman apparel, merchandising, design and textiles; Samantha Gizerian, WSU Pullman integrative physiology and neuroscience; Cassandra Gulam, WSU Vancouver foreign languages and cultures; John Lupinacci, WSU Pullman teaching and learning; Sammy Perone, WSU Pullman human development; Janet Peters, WSU Tri-Cities psychology; and Barbara Richardson, WSU Spokane interprofessional education and research.
To learn more about the fellows program and the 2017 cohort, visit http://cce.wsu.edu/facultyfellows.
