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Volume 5, Issue 3; Aug. 16, 2023
Blue and Yellow logo: West Virginia University Center for Community Engagement

ACADEMIC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NEWSLETTER

Volume 5, Issue 3

August 16, 2023
 
The WVU Center for Community Engagement (CCE) aims to leverage university knowledge and resources to support effective partnerships with communities that enhance discovery through community-engaged teaching, scholarship, and action. The Center supports faculty, staff, and students in working with external partners to meet reciprocal and mutually beneficial needs and advance WVU’s land grant mission.
    
/ Embrace the Spirit of Learning and Service  
A Warm Welcome Back to WVU's Fall 2023 Semester
Photo of a WVU campus building. A river is behind the building with the sun rising on the horizon. The WVU Center for Community Engagement logo is at the top of the image.
Welcome back, Mountaineers!  The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) team members are eager to share another year of community, scholarship, and action with you!  As the new semester begins, we want to know:  How do you plan to contribute to civic action this semester?

To learn more about how you can better engage with the CCE and community members, we encourage you to review the newsletter and explore the various opportunities on our website .  We are a resource hub for faculty, staff, students, and partners! So whether you want to connect with a community partner or colleague, find volunteering opportunities on iServe , get involved with service learning courses, or share your community-engaged research, the CCE team is available to offer support!

The Center for Community Engagement invites you to connect with us on Instagram , Facebook , X , YouTube , and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with events, opportunities, and news.  As always, feel free to contact us at CCE@mail.wvu.edu with any questions, suggestions, and aspirations.   
    / Upcoming A.C.E. Series Event
Fall 2023
The Academic Community Engagement (A.C.E.) Series returns to WVU this season!

We are thrilled to offer the WVU A.C.E. Series - a virtual platform designed exclusively for the academic community to elevate their expertise and engagement. Our mission is to enhance scholarship, research, teaching, and creative endeavors, while also encouraging community engagement and civic action.

The 2023-2024 A.C.E. Series begins with Gayle Conelly Manchin! 
Thursday, October 5, 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Theme: Finding Purpose
Registration link:  https://wvu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RR4g8rkeI4v4ou

Information about the 2023-2024 A.C.E. Series themes and panelists can be found on the  CCE website .
Flyer for upcoming ACE seminar. The WVU Center for Community Engagement's logo is in the top left, with a photo of Gayle Manchin in the bottom right. Text on the flyer reads "Finding purpose: benefits of service and collaboration. Join us for our first ACE seminar of the 2023-24 academic year. Guest speaker: Gayle Manchin. Thursday, October 5, 8:45 a.m. eastern standard time. Register at linktr.ee/wvucce"
Portrait of Gayle Conelly Manchin, Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission under President Biden.

/ iServe Training for Instructors
If your students use iServe to track service hours for a class requirement or activity, then this virtual training is for you!  We'll share tips on how to enter student rosters, track student hours, highlight student volunteer resumes, and more.  You can bring your questions to this live virtual session.

Date: Thursday, August 31, 2023
Time: 11:30 a.m.
RSVP:  https://wvu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9TyY0laB5O2uHVs
    
/ Looking for Service Opportunities?
August 10-18
Text Flyer, blue background and white text: West Virginia University Welcome Week 2023. Numbers are yellow font with a pink shadow.
WVU Center for Community Engagement is starting the school year off strong by engaging in Welcome Week 2023 . We encourage all instructors and students to explore the service opportunities in the Morgantown community. Have fun and meet others while engaging in service!
View Welcome Week 2023 Volunteer Needs
    / iServe Support
iServe blue and gold logo. Do good. Be better. Go first!
WVU Faculty, staff, students, and community partners may schedule a 1:1 iServe Consultation for personalized support with navigating the special features of WVU's volunteer management system.  Book your appointment by emailing iserve@mail.wvu.edu. 
 
    / Community Outreach and Resources
Strong community partnerships take time to develop. Jumpstart your Community Engaged course or project by contacting the Center for Community Engagement today!

Resource: The Center for Community Engagement also curates a newsletter for campus and community partners.  It's a wonderful resource for partners and a fantastic way for A.C.E. scholars to stay connected to community opportunities and potential collaborations. Please feel free to sign up .
    / VISTA Collaborative
AmeriCorps West Virginia logo in blue and white

AmeriCorps VISTA 

 
AmeriCorps VISTAs assist with building capacity and supporting the mission of host sites.  AmeriCorps VISTA members use their skills to develop, enhance, and sustain engagement programs.

VISTA members are awarded to West Virginia University, WVU Beckley, WVU Keyser, and Extension Service departments, colleges, and programs, including non-academic departments and programs.

Go to the Center for Community Engagement - AmeriCorps website to learn more about open positions or to become a host site.
    / AmeriCorps Spotlight
Headshot of VISTA, Sarah Toothman. Caucasian woman who appears to be in her early 20's wearing a green top, large smile, and long blonde hair.
Sarah Toothman will be acting as the Service-Learning VISTA at the Center for Community Engagement for the upcoming school year. This role includes assisting instructors and students with iServe capabilities and service-learning opportunities. Through AmeriCorps, the Center for Community Engagement plans to increase service-learning capabilities by 10% for the upcoming school year. 
 

Sarah recently graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education from Averett University. During this time, she was an active member of the community and served as the Historian for Kappa Delta Pi. Previously, Sarah served as an AmeriCorps STEM Educator through the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, VA. As a VISTA, Sarah is excited to contribute to service in higher education during her term with AmeriCorps.   

    / Academic Community Engagement Consultations
The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) works with faculty, instructors, staff, and graduate students within all disciplines to design or refine community engaged courses, programs, and reasearch.  The CCE is a resource hub; we aim to support your efforts in shaping impactful experiences for your students and partners.   

Considerations include:
You're invited to schedule a conversation with the Academic Community Engagement team.
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We gathered some innovative external opportunities to inform and support your community engagement work, and to share your perspective on important topics.
    / Grants and Awards
Volunteer West Virginia Mini Grants
Volunteer West Virginia is happy to announce the availability of mini grants to plan volunteer projects for West Virginians. The purpose of the mini grants is to develop new volunteer projects in the community. Eligible organizations may receive up to $500 to plan and complete a volunteer project in September – October 2023. ​This is an ideal opportunity for campus-community partnerships.
Proposal Deadline: August 21st, 2023

Institutional Challenge Grant
W.T. Grant Foundation Institutional Challenge Grants support university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. The grant requires that research institutions shift their policies and practices to value collaborative research.  Institutions also need to build the capacity of researchers to produce relevant work and the capacity of agency and nonprofit partners to use research.  The foundation will award $650K over three years.
Proposal Deadline: September 13, 2023
 
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects around the world. College and university faculty, as well as artists and professionals from a wide range of fields can join over 400,000 Fulbrighters who have come away with enhanced skills, new connections, and greater mutual understanding
Applications due: September 15, 2023

Innovation Grants Program
For the innovative improvement of undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in West Virginia.
Proposal Deadline: October 2, 2023 by 5 p.m.
*FOR SATILITE CAMPUS ONLY
    / Events, Workshops, and Conferences

WV Substance Use Response Plan: Town Hall Meetings Series
Over the last year, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Drug Control Policy and the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment have overseen implementation of the West Virginia 2023 Priorities and Implementation Plan. The virtual town hall meetings will provide an overview of this year’s progress and solicit feedback regarding updates to the plan for 2024. Each town hall meeting will offer breakout sessions for all eight sections of the Plan. Participants will select the session they wish to attend when they register.
Multiple Dates in August

Broader Impacts Workshop Series - Virtual
Michigan State University
This 4-part series of workshops will introduce participants to all aspects of building your Broader Impacts plan. Participants can register for one workshop or all sessions.
 

Fall Network Conversation
The Role of Civic & Community Engagement in our Cities—Past, Present, and Future

The Research University Civic Engagement Network (TRUCEN) works to advance civic engagement and engaged scholarship among research universities. TRUCEN members are R1 institutions that share a fundamental commitment to leveraging their resources, skills, and energy to address the most challenging issues in society.

Join TRUCEN network conversations to dive into contemporary topics, engage in dialogue & network with colleagues from R1 institutions across the country.
September 27, 2:00-3:30 P.M. EDT

Engagement Scholarship Consortium's 23rd Annual Conference
The ESC is a non-profit organization composed of higher education institutions that build strong university-community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship.
October 4 - 5, 2023

Place-Based Education Conference
hosted by The Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative
November 9 - 11, 2023

Stepping into the Work: Expanding Understanding of Global Positionality, Responsibility, and Opportunity
The Collaborative Institute at Haverford College
November 9 - 11, 2023


West Virginia Rural Health Conference: Lighting the Way for Rural Health
hosted by WVRHA
November 15 - 17, 2023

Winter '24 Institute on Teaching Social Action
Bonner Foundation
There is no cost to join!
This three-day virtual institute will introduce faculty and staff to an experiential learning approach for incorporating social action campaigns into either a semester-long course or co-curricular workshop series. In this transformative experiential learning model, students develop and launch a social action campaign of their choosing during the semester the course is taught. The student campaigns seek to change a rule, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution, whether on campus or in the community.
Application due Dec. 15, 2023
January 3 - 5, 2024
    / Call For Manuscripts

Community-Engaged Scholars, Practitioners, and Boundary Spanners: Identity, Wellbeing & Career Development .
Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement.

Within this call is a special reflection essay category, a great place for new/reluctant journal article writers or practitioners to share their experiences, wisdom, and lived experiences in 1,000 words.   Brief proposals are due on Sept 1, with feedback and full invitations communicated by Oct 1.

The special issue is a collaboration between the  Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement , the  Engagement Scholarship Consortium , and a guest editorial team, including Jennifer W. Purcell (Kennesaw State University),  Diane Doberneck (Michigan State University ) , Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez (Kennesaw State University),  and Jeanne McDonald (University of Colorado Boulder).

Timeline:
Proposals Due: September 1, 2023
Invitation for Full Manuscripts: October 1, 2023
Manuscripts Due: December 15, 2023
Anticipated Publication: Fall 2024
 

Compact24 is calling for project submissions for their upcoming conference. This conference will take place over the course of four days and feature a wide variety of engaging, interactive sessions focused on civic engagement, community-engaged research, civic- and service-learning, institutional change, university-community partnerships and more.
Submit by Friday, September 8, 2023

Citizen  Science: Theory and Practice
Special Collection: AI and the Future of Citizen Science
In this special collection, Citizen Science is seeking a range of papers including research papers, review and synthesis papers, case studies, and essays, as described by
Submit by September 8, 2023
 

For its two issues of 2024  ELTHE  seeks articles that develop broad, actionable definitions of experiential learning.

Much of the field’s current scholarship explores specific kinds of experiential learning or a given high‑impact practice, such as service learning, undergraduate research, or first-year experience. Yet institutions are creating offices with a broader purview, with titles like Center for Experiential Education, Director of Engaged Learning, or AVP of High-Impact Practices. This same generalized language appears in college and university strategic plans, accreditation projects, and mission statements, as institutions seek to differentiate themselves, locate college learning in real-world settings, and make the case for higher education’s value. As a result, at the same time experiential learning is getting new support and emphasis, decision-makers don’t have what they need to evaluate multiple, competing demands for the experiential learning designation, at a particularly urgent time.

See the latest  call for peer-reviewed articles  for details.

To be included in the April 2024 issue: Submit by November 1, 2023
To be included in the November 2024 issue: Submit by May 1, 2024


 

    / Share Award and Publication Notifications

Have you received notice that your community-engaged project will be funded?  Was your community-engaged scholarship shared in a journal or at a conference?

 Congratulations! Share the news with us at  serveandlearn@mail.wvu.edu
We want to help amplify your community-engaged work! 
Yellow and blue flyer with a blue hand holding a phone. Text includes: Attention Engaged Scholars. Do you have an inspirational story involving community partners? Share your story with us! WVU Center for Community Engagement logo.
Please share your story by emailing serveandlearn@mail.wvu.edu or by
filling out this Qualtrics form:  https://wvu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2gfaFOE62FiFfQq

The Center for Community Engagement team members are committed to:

  • Facilitating faculty and academic staff   in integrating civic and community engagement experiences seamlessly into their coursework, research, and programs.
  • Empowering students   to actively participate in positive change by providing opportunities for social action, leadership development, and meaningful engagement with civic and community initiatives.
  • Cr eating connections   between community organizations and dedicated students, faculty, and staff who share a common goal of promoting positive social change
Did you receive this Academic Community Engagement Newsletter from someone else? You can subscribe here . 
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