April 2024

NEWS

Since 1990, April has been designated worldwide as Global Volunteer Month. To celebrate, UTK faculty, staff, students, and alumni are encouraged to get inVOLved and serve alongside others in the community. The Clay and Debbie Jones Center for Leadership and Service is offering two VOLServe events on April 27 - register here to join other UTK volunteers at UT Gardens and register here to volunteer with Knoxville Re-Animation Coalition (Oddfellows).  To find other local opportunities, click here for the United Way of Knoxville's Spring Volunteer Guide.  Or, visit Tennessee Serves for opportunities across the state. 

Remember, UTK employees can request up to eight paid work hours each year to engage in volunteer service. 

The UT Office of Community Engagement and Outreach is pleased to host the Community Engagement Academy (CEA) Summer Intensive for graduate students June 4-5, 2024. We welcome graduate students that are interested in the fundamental concepts of community engagement, academic outreach, and community-engaged scholarship, which they can apply to their research, teaching, and practice. Through interactive sessions, guided discussions, and a community tour, participants will explore grand challenges and potential solutions. Benefits include individual consultation, access to background literature, strategies for successful engagement activities, and strategies for publishing community-engaged scholarship. The deadline to apply is April 26.

The Alliance for Better Nonprofits (ABN) was launched by Dr. Alex Miller and Chris Martin in 2015 and merged with the United Way of Greater Knoxville in late 2021. The purpose of ABN is to provide East Tennessee nonprofits with support to accomplish their missions and increase their impact, ensuring all East Tennesseans across diverse communities, cultures, and generations can reach their full potential. 

Each year, the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach pays for an ABN membership which extends to all UTK faculty, staff, and students. Individuals can create a free sub-account using their UTK email address and access all ABN member benefits, view and post job openings, search for funding opportunities in GrantStation (for free, a savings of $699/year), and register for classes and events at the discounted member rate. 

The Office of Community Engagement and Outreach recently hosted 50 students from Alcoa High School and 15 students from Centro Hispano. The students from Alcoa learned about the importance of actively engaging in the admissions process early and about many of our pre-collegiate programs. Their visit included a tour of campus and the Haslam College of Business. The students from Centro Hispano were able to spend time in the UTK chemistry lab with Dr. Ampofo Darko, participate in a campus tour, and learn valuable information from UT admissions, UT Success Academy, the Latin American Student Association (LASO) and Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. We hope several of these students enroll and attend Rocky Top soon. 

On April 9, the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach hosted faculty, staff, students, and local organizations for Nonprofit Day. Over 50 campus and community partners showcased their efforts to impact our world, as well as opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration. Hundreds of faculty, staff, and students attended the event in the Student Union Ballroom resulting in the establishment of new relationships and brainstorming on new initiatives. One community member shared, "We loved the opportunity to connect with other likeminded folks serving our community. We hope to see gatherings like this grown and connect to an even greater population of the university."

Chien-Fei Chen is leading a diverse interdisciplinary research team that seeks to understand and address environmental health and energy burden challenges in underserved communities. The team has received a $1.7 million grant from the Wellcome Trust Foundation to assist with the work in Knox County and Appalachia. In the announcement, Chen shared, "We are committed to fostering leadership and cultivating community networks across the Southeast to address climate change, enhance resilience, and tackle social inequalities effectively.” 

Thirteen UTK faculty members, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Division of Access and Engagement, recently attended the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy (FWCA) conference in Arlington, Virginia. Conference attendees learned from several dynamic keynote speakers, participated in a writing retreat, attended dozens of powerful workshops, and had an opportunity to network with indigenous and women of color in higher education from around the country. 

The Governor's Volunteer Stars Awards (GVSA) is an initiative from Volunteer Tennessee that seeks to recognize outstanding volunteers from each of Tennessee's 95 counties. On February 18, 2024,  Volunteer Tennessee recognized each of the 2023 winners. 

The Office of the Provost, Division of Access and Engagement, and the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development have selected 16 faculty members for the 2024-25 Research Development Academy (RDA). Led by Diane Kelly, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Javiette Samuel, Associate Vice Chancellor, the RDA cohort will meet monthly to engage in a variety of personal and professional development opportunities including, but not limited to coaching sessions, a research project, mentoring, community building, access to senior level administrators, and a research presentation. The faculty members will also have an opportunity to participate in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity's Faculty Success Program.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

The last Thoughtful Thursday for this semester will take place on April 18 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. in the Scripps Convergence Lab, Room 402G. This session, "An Accessible State of Mind: Creating University Experiences that are Inclusive of Students with Disabilities" is being presented by Kristi Pearson (Interpreter/Transcriber), Anna N. Teitt (Sign Language Interpreter) & Angela Tyson (Accommodations Coordinator). The presentation will focus on exploring the role that everyone can play in creating an equitable and accessible university experience for students with disabilities.

The Division of Access and Engagement is accepting applications for the Faculty Advisory Board. The Board is a body appointed by the Vice Chancellor for the Division of Access and Engagement to advise on matters concerning campus climate and on initiatives originating from the Office of the Vice Chancellor of the Division of Access and Engagement that impact faculty at UTK and UTIA. For full consideration, complete the application by April 25. Inquiries should be sent to Dr. Javiette Samuel, Associate Vice Chancellor at jsamuel@utk.edu.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is excited to announce that applications are open for a new, multi-million dollar behavioral health scholarship program. The Tennessee Behavioral Health Pathways Scholarship is designed to support the next generation of professionals working in mental health and substance use treatment careers as they earn the advanced degrees necessary to begin their journey.

Eligible students can receive up to $15,000 in tuition assistance per academic year for up to two years as they pursue a master’s degree in fields including counseling, psychiatric nursing, social work, psychology, or similar behavioral health professions. In return for the tuition support, students must commit to working for a public behavioral health provider for the same amount of time they were on scholarship. For more information or to apply, please visit https://www.tn.gov/behavioral-health/scholarship.

The Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development (ORIED) is hosting its first Research Ethics Week from April 22 – 26.  The week will provide professional development opportunities and focus on best practices to support research ethics and integrity. Events will include a Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Workshop, Departmental Review Chair Workshop, and FAQ Session. 

Contact Care Line is offering their Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) on April 27-28 at the Regas Building.  ASIST is designed to increase awareness of individual and societal attitudes regarding suicide and how these attitudes may affect intervention with someone at increased risk of suicide behavior. Over the two-day workshop participants will learn and practice a model designed to increase their abilities to listen and offer support during a suicide crisis. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available following completion of the training.

The Office of Community Engagement and Outreach, in collaboration with the Department of Africana Studies, will be hosting the 3rd annual REAP Academy, June 24-29th.  An acronym for rights, equity, access, and various types of participation, this academy is designed to introduce rising freshmen at Knox County Schools to the idea of being change agents in their schools and communities.  Students will engage in a variety of classes, field trips, and experiential learning opportunities. Applications are due on April 30, by 12:00 p.m. 

The United Way of Greater Knoxville has posted an opening for an intern with the East Tennessee Collaborative. This role offers an enriching opportunity to gain hands-on experience in program oversight, implementation, and indirect consumer interaction through eligibility assessments. The ETC Intern will also play a pivotal role in driving program effectiveness and fostering community empowerment by engaging in both systems-level change initiatives and direct service.

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES

As the field of community engagement continues to develop and expand, the opportunities for professional development are increasing as well. As you begin planning for 2024-25,  consider the following opportunities: 

Metropolitan Universities journal (MUJ), published by the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) invites submissions for an issue on Exploring the Role of Higher Education in Prison and Returning Citizens on Campuses and Communities. This issue will explore how higher education institutions address issues related to education in prison, reentry, and returning citizens in the community. Manuscripts are due by May 1. 

ENGAGE! editors have announced a call for manuscript submissions for the next edition of the journal focused on Reckoning, Reparations, and Regeneration from Global and Local Contexts. This special issue, published by IUPUI, calls for manuscripts that: 1) use a community focused perspective to clearly elucidate the historical, micro/individual, mezzo, and/or structural reasons for which reparations are necessary to disrupt persistent collective social injury while fostering community healing and wholeness and 2) explain the most appropriate mechanisms for providing reparations to address the current inequalities. Theoretical, community-based, and interdisciplinary frameworks for discussing these issues are encouraged. Community members and community-engaged scholars from a wide range of scientific and professional backgrounds are encouraged to submit manuscripts. A distinctive characteristic of the journal is that articles must be conceptualized, written and disseminated with a community partner. Submissions are due June 1. 

Please note while each issue has an area of thematic focus, ENGAGE!, a peer-reviewed journal, accepts manuscripts, as well as pieces reflecting the visual and performing arts, on any topic of relevance to community engaged research.  For example, other possible areas of interest are, but not limited to: Homelessness and Housing and Urban Development; Faith Movements and Community Developments; Truth, Racial Healing and Indigenous Peoples; Neoliberalism and Community Economic Development; Environmental Justice; Communities of Persons with Disabilities; Advancing Methodological Approaches to Community Engaged Research; Current Issues that are Global/International in Nature.  

FUNDING, FELLOWSHIPS, AND AWARDS

The Auto Club Group Foundation provides support in the areas of traffic safety, driver education, and financial literacy programming throughout Auto Club Group’s 14-state footprint. Applications are accepted year-round and are evaluated based on alignment with the Auto Club Group Foundation’s priorities, project description, project outcomes, and available budget.

IARSLCE (International Association for Research on Service-Learning & Community Engagement) has announced that nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 IARSLCE Awards.  Nominations are due by April 21 and should be submitted electronically to awards@iarslce.org. Self-nominations are welcome. Complete descriptions of awards and instructions can be found here.

All nominees will be notified of their status in May and award winners will be recognized at the 2024 IARSLCE Conference in San Diego, Oct 2-4. Please help us recognize the outstanding scholars on our campus by submitting a nomination!

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation provides grant funding to support literacy and education initiatives serving individuals of all ages. The Foundation funds nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 15-mile radius of Dollar General stores in the states in which they operate. Youth Literacy Grants are due on April 25. 

The UT System is committing up to $5 million to community-tied projects and research that build new knowledge and bring about tangible improvements to the quality of life for Tennesseans. Projects will be selected through a competitive review process conducted by internal and external experts. 

The Grand Challenge Grants include two tiers of funding. Type 1 proposals are eligible for $50,000–$100,000. Type 2 proposals are eligible for $400,000–$500,000. These grants are open to all faculty and staff at all campuses, institutes, extension locations, and field offices. Proposals due April 30.

In celebration of First Horizon's 160th anniversary, and to reiterate their commitment to the communities they serve, First Horizon Foundation is launching a "Grants for Good" campaign.  Submissions will be accepted through April 30, and 160 grants of $10,000 will be awarded. Areas of impact include, but are not limited to financial stability, community stability, and community health/wellness.

Conducting scholarship that is mutually beneficial for both university scholars and communities is the very foundation of engaged scholarship. Through the Engaged Scholarship Research/Creative Activities Grants Program, the Engagement Scholarship Consortium is offering financial support to help facilitate positive outcomes for both scholars and communities.

Faculty and staff may apply for up to $5,000 to fund a one-year project. Collaborative projects among faculty and/or staff from more than one discipline and/or at more than one university are encouraged. Applications are due May 3.

The Learning Landscapes Challenge, sponsored by Siegel Family Endowment and the Walton Family Foundation, is a $2.2 million competition to design and build future-ready K-12 education environments in the United States. The Challenge seeks infrastructure solutions, including physical, digital, and social tools, structures, resources, and systems, that deliver and connect digital, in-school, and community-based learning experiences. The multiphase challenge will provide entrants with funding, expertise, and access to a collaborative community of like-minded partners that can help them scale their solutions. Phase 1 submission deadline is May 14.

The Food Justice for Kids Prize, an initiative of Newman’s Own Foundation, will provide up to $1 million in total funding over two years to nonprofits, public schools, and tribes working to advance food justice for children in the United States. Funds will be provided for projects that support community-based direct service, ecosystem and community power building, and sustainable practices that drive 1) food justice for Indigenous children or 2) enhanced nutrition education and nutritious school food. A Q&A webinar will be held on May 6. Applications are due by June 11.  

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is taking proposals for a capacity building grant in support of health, education, and financial security. Students studying nonprofits and philanthropy will be awarding 2-5 grants with a combined total of $20,000. Letters of Interest are due May 24.

Project Pericles invites applications from faculty and staff for the Civic and Voter Engagement Fellowship! This is a wonderful opportunity to support deliberative dialogue and/or address voter suppression on campuses. Fellowship details include: $1,000 award to promote civic engagement and social change through the humanities, Periclean Civic Engagement Resources for courses and/or projects in Spring-Fall 2024, and access to virtual learning communities. Applications are reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis. 

The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. The recipient receives a monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, and recognition at the AAAS Annual Meeting. 

For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual’s active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and promote meaningful dialogue between science and society, above and beyond required job responsibilities. Nominations are open April 17 - July 14.

The AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science recognizes scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science. The recipient receives a monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, and recognition at the AAAS Annual Meeting.

Beginning with the 2019 award year, the award is endowed by and named for quantum physicist Mani L. Bhaumik. Bhaumik is internationally known for the advances he made to excimer laser technology, which eventually led to Lasik eye surgery. He hopes to elevate the recognition of working and retired scientists for their exceptional efforts to communicate science in ways that inform and engage the public.

For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual’s active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and promote meaningful dialogue between science and society, above and beyond required job responsibilities. Nominations are open April 17 - June 30.

The American Fundraising Foundation (AmFund) will begin accepting applications for the 2024 Golden Pear Grant Program beginning June 4. Organizations can complete and submit a simple form online at www.AmFund.org/giving. This is the first step to qualify for a Golden Pear Grant. The submission deadline is 3:00 p.m. on  July 16.

When awarded, these grants will provide unrestricted funds to help support nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. 

Office of Community Engagement and Outreach
within the Division of Access and Engagement
301 Andy Holt Tower
1331 Circle Park Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: 865-974-4742
Website: communityengagement.utk.edu
Email: communityengagement@utk.edu