June 2024

NEWS

In April, UTK Chancellor Donde Plowman served as the keynote speaker for the 2024 James Patterson Land-Grant University Lecture at The Ohio State University. During the speech, Plowman defined the three primary criticisms of higher education and indicated how the land-grant mission of UTK and Ohio State informs initiatives to combat complaints and serve the people. 

In 2025, the University of Tennesse, Knoxville, will be submitting a reclassification application for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement. In preparation, a delegation of the UTK Reclassification Leadership Team recently joined colleagues from the region at Elon University for a Carnegie in Action Workshop. Participants met with staff, scholars, and practitioners to discuss their experiences, learn best practices with community-engaged scholarship, and gain additional insight into the reapplication process and expectations. 

The UTK Office of Community Engagement and Outreach congratulates the third annual summer cohort on their completion of the Community Engagement Academy (CEA) Summer Intensive. Throughout the academy, emerging engaged scholars gained insights and knowledge on best practices in community-engaged scholarship and assessment, as well as a deeper understanding of the history of Knoxville. 

The Office of Community Engagement and Outreach offered a Community Engagement Bootcamp on June 3 for all UTK faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students wanting to learn the foundations of community engagement, outreach, and engaged scholarship. Plans are already underway to offer a similar opportunity next summer.

On June 19, UTK administrators, faculty, staff, and friends embodied our "Vol is a Verb" motto as they joined others from across the city and region in the 2024 MLK March/Parade and Juneteenth Celebration. Participants ranged from community organizations to stilt walkers, drummers, and beyond.  A special thank you to all UTK participants who showed up on your day off to march, hand out shakers, frisbees, and beach balls, and support our community. 

After a series of tragic events involving gun violence affecting students at Austin-East Magnet High School, UTK's Division of Access and Engagement (DAE) asked how the university could come alongside the community during this difficult time. The response from the principal indicated a need for writing support for their students. With initial funding from DAE, a flagship writing program was initiated with the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center. Three years later, the program has not only continued, but expanded to all Knoxville Flagship Schools. Read the full article here. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESOURCES

Earlier this month, $650,000 in funding was announced for the partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Cherokee Health Systems. The William T. Grant Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting research that will improve the lives of young people, has committed the funds for a three-year cycle for research-practice partnership to improve outcomes for maternal and child health for Black families in East Tennessee. 

The Office of Community Engagement and Outreach (OCEO) will host the 7th Annual Engagement and Outreach Conference from October 1-2, with additional events all week. If your college or department is planning an outreach or engagement event for fall semester, consider planning it during this week and OCEO can include it in our promotions. If you have any questions, or an event to share, please contact Amy Gilliland, OCEO assistant director. 

Whether you are a novice or champion of community-engaged teaching and learning, check out a recent blog by Patti H. Clayton and Lori E. Kniffin, on "Designing Critical Reflection for Service-Learning." The authors begin with the distinction of volunteerism and service-learning and offer a quick primer on critical reflection, ideas on how to structure it, and considerations for design.

The Education Trust is committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system. Their work spans P-16 policy, research, and practice and federal and state advocacy. 

Zero Hunger Academy is the Congressional Hunger Center's online hub for advocacy and education. From self-paced courses to 30-day challenges, seminars, videos, and other multimedia resources, Zero Hunger Academy offers free professional development opportunities in anti-hunger advocacy. They have curated a collection of resources to show the scope and root causes of hunger, the people who are most affected by hunger, and why. Whether you have three months or three minutes, you can expand your knowledge and advocacy skills with Zero Hunger Academy. Students and faculty across the nation have used the resources below to better inform knowledge, skills, and networking in the classroom, with student organizations, and more: 

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES

The University of Tennessee System is seeking engaging presentations from University-affiliated faculty and staff for the 2025 Grand Challenges Summit. Planned for February 13-14, in Murfreesboro, this summit is aimed at addressing Tennessee's most pressing issues, including overcoming addiction, advancing K-12 education, and strengthening Tennessee's rural communities. Proposals are due September 1.

Campus Compact will be hosting their 2025 National Conference from March 31-April 2, in Atlanta, GA. In 2025, they will celebrate "40 years of Campus Compact and imagine a future where the cumulative impact of communities, campuses, and individuals working together brings about a collective flourishing for all." 

Compact25 plans to be the largest national conference focused on the role of higher education in building healthy communities and fostering a just and equitable democracy.  Proposals for the conference are being accepted through September 27. 

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 October 15. 

FUNDING, FELLOWSHIPS, AND AWARDS

ProLiteracy builds the capacity of adult literacy programs to transform lives and communities. ProLiteracy’s Literacy Opportunity Fund provides grants to nonprofit literacy organizations of all types and sizes in the United States that are doing direct work with adult students. Grants can cover general operating expenses, including salaries, technology, supplies, teacher stipends, equipment, space rental, etc., or may focus on a particular project, event, or new programming effort. Grants are awarded four times a year: July 1, October 1, January 3, and April 1. 

The American Fundraising Foundation (AmFund) is accepting applications for the 2024 Golden Pear Grant Program 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. 

The Kids Run the Nation Grant Fund, an initiative of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), provides financial assistance to running clubs, schools, and community-based nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. for youth running programs. Programs should have kids running regularly, more than once each week for multiple weeks (as opposed to participating in a one-time event), and should be structured running programs incorporating educational topics and running activities, ideally utilizing the RRCA’s Kids Run the Nation curriculum. The 2024 grant application period closes on August 1.

The Rural Technology Fund provides grants to schools and organizations in the United States for rural technology education projects and assistive technology projects. Rural Technology Education Grants support teacher and student-led projects in public schools and libraries to help spark student interest in technology-based careers. 

OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH

If you are conducting community-engaged research, scholarship, or outreach work, we invite you to share your activity with us. Your work is important and deserves to be elevated to the highest extent possible. Please complete the Engagement Project Form here. 

If you received a copy of this newsletter from someone else and want to subscribe, please click here. 

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
communityengagement.utk.edu
communityengagement@utk.edu