UA Delegation Has Big Impact on ESC 2013

October 13th, 2013
in News


Dr. Hiram Fitzgerald, associate provost, University Outreach and Engagement, Michigan State University, speaking at the ESC conference in Lubbock, Texas.	Dr. Samory T. Pruitt, UA vice president for Community Affairs, speaking at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, explained differences between engaged research and traditional research.	JCES editor Cassie Simon, center, chats with visitors at the JCES reception in Lubbock

This poster was presented by Dr. Jeffrey Parker and his students who have been instrumental in building momentum for progress in the Holt community and schools.	Paige Johnson, along with Michele Montgomery, presented research entitled “Engaging Community Health Nursing Students in Community Assessment and Intervention.”	The research journal editors panel once again filled the room.

To view Dr. Pruitt’s ESC 2013 Powerpoint presentation, click here.

By Kirsten Barnes and Ed Mullins
Center for Community-Based
Partnerships

LUBBOCK, Texas — Thirty-five UA faculty, staff and students representing 12 campus departments attended the 14th annual Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) conference and related programs hosted by Texas Tech University and ESC’s West Region in early October.

ESC is an international group of universities that champion engaged scholarship, a blend of university teaching, research and service that addresses critical societal problems in collaboration with community organizations with students playing major roles.

“The University of Alabama was again well represented at this important conference,” said Dr. Samory T. Pruitt, vice president for Community Affairs at UA and also vice president of ESC. “One year after we hosted this conference I am pleased that there was no letdown in our participation this year.”

The theme of this year’s conference was “Boundary Spanning: Engaged Scholarship Across Disciplines, Communities and Geography.” More than 500 delegates, including a large numbers of students and community partners from scores of colleges, universities and community organizations and nine foreign countries attended.

A breakdown of types of participation shows that UA presented 14 research papers or research posters and filled an equal number of other key roles in the conference.

Following are brief descriptions of UA’s participation in the conference (for the full program, go to http://engagementscholarship.org/upload/conferences/2013/TTU%20ESC%20Program.pdf):

• Brittney Anderson, John Wheat, and Melissa Cox (Rural Scholars Program). Poster: Initiating the Development of Rural Physicians Through Structured Learning Opportunities: Hale County Health Scholars.
• Kirsten Barnes (Journalism, CCBP). Covered conference as writer and photographer.
• Emily Broman (Honors College). Presenter: Art to Life: Preservation of Personhood.
• Nancy Boyd (Tuscaloosa Public Library), Lance Simpson and Megan Walters (Library and Information Studies). Presenter: Improving Literacy One “Sense” at a Time.
• Vicky Carter (Social Work, CCBP). Report: To ESC Board of Directors on JCES (with Ed Mullins).
• George Daniels (College of Communication and Information Sciences). Presenter: Cameras, Community and Job-Training: A Tale of Short-Term Engagement.
• Janet Griffith (Provost’s Office). Member: Program Committee and Conference Leadership Committee.
• Paige Johnson and Michele Montgomery (Nursing). Presenter: Engaging Community Health Nursing Students in Community Assessment and Intervention.
• Margaret Purcell (New College). Presenter: Beyond the Classroom: Community and Students Engaged in Nonprofit Partnerships.
• Ed Mullins (CCBP). Member: Conference Leadership Committee. Report: To ESC Board of Directors on JCES (with Vicky Carter).
• Sandra Cooley Nichols and Adriane Sheffield (College of Education) and Elizabeth Davis (Tuscaloosa Public Schools). Presenter: Connecting Instruction, Professional Development and Student Achievement: Partnering for Change.
• Jeffrey G. Parker (Psychology), Chelsea Brown, Jessica Barton, Ashton Huggins (Studio Art), Leah Dunkel, Cayce Savage (Art and Art History). Poster: A Framework for Empowering High School Youth for Community Improvement.
• Heather Pleasants (CCBP). Member: Race, Ethnicity and Community Engagement in Higher Education Symposium Planning Committee. Presenter: The Parent Leadership Academy: A Powerful Community-Based Model for Parent Involvement.
• Samory Pruitt (Community Affairs). Presenter: The Global University Network for Innovation: Let’s Build Transformative Knowledge to Drive Social Change, Enlarging the Conception of Knowledge. Also: Vice President ESC Board of Directors.
• Adriane Sheffield, Ryan Alverson, Coddy Carter, Cecil Robinson, and Brittney Brown, (College of Education). Poster: Navigating the “Space Between” in a Community-Based Partnership.
• Cassandra Simon (Social Work). Panelist: Community Engagement Journal Editors. Presiding: JCES Reception for Editorial Board and Authors.
• Stephanie Sickler (Human Environmental Sciences). Poster: Serving Our Servicemen: Outcomes of an Engaged Scholarship Project: Connecting Interior Design Students and Local Veterans.
• Zacahry Wahl-Alexander, Oleg Sinelnikov, and Robert Herron (College of Education). Poster: Middle School Track and Field Community Event.
• Anna-Margaret Yarbrough, (College of Education). Presenter: Training College Students to Better Engage with Community Partners. Participant: Emerging Scholars Workshop.

The 2014 conference will be at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, October 7 and 8, the organization’s first outside the United States. The theme is “Engaging for Change: Changing for Engagement.”

UA hosted the 13th annual ESC conference in October 2012, with the largest attendance in the organization’s history.


A mariachi band and dancers, all Texas Tech students, entertain ESC conference delegates.	Dr. Valerie Holton, ESC delegate from Virginia Commonwealth University, talks with UA’s Dr. Ed Mullins about the research journal JCES, published at UA.	Margaret Purcell presents her research entitled “Beyond the Classroom: Community and Students Engaged in Nonprofit Partnerships.”	Dr. John Wheat of the College of Community Health Sciences and colleagues presented this poster on behalf of the Hale County Health Scholars.