Public Engagement

Recently I've met with the three Faculty Senate Committees at the University of Minnesota whose charges have the greatest connection to public engagement issues. After describing the organization and activities of the Office for Public Engagement, I presented each with a list of the issues that I thought were most germane to their interests. Here are the three lists.

Educational Policy
• Engaged teaching: service learning, multi/interdisciplinary focused on societal issues
• Lower limit estimates of service-learning curricular activities: 75 courses in 13 colleges, involving nearly 60 faculty and instructors and more than 2000 students.
• High concordance (typically 80-90+%) between service-learning outcomes and life-long learning and citizenship goals established by UM Committee on Enhanced Student Learning, and student development outcomes established by Office of Student Affairs.
• Connection with liberal education themes: multiculturalism, citizenship and public ethics, international perspectives
• Service learning: Should there be U certification and transcript notation? (Community Engagement Scholars Program)
• Public Engagement as part of research ethics training for graduate students

Research
• NSF broader impacts criterion
• Involvement of under-represented students and communities, and pre-college educational institutions, as criteria for large grants
• Classification of research activities as engaged
• Database of engaged research and teaching activities, including GIS information
• IRB issues for community-based research
• Community partners as co-PIs or subcontractors on grants
• Funding of engaged research: paucity of substantial funding, and low/no ICR allowance
• Inter/multidisciplinary engaged research
• Public Engagement as part of research ethics training for graduate students

Faculty Affairs
• Evaluation of faculty work in promotion and tenure policy statements
• Faculty development programs on how to do effective engaged research and teaching
• Interaction with Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators on rewards and incentives for engaged teaching, research, and service