Faculty Fellows for Community Engagement Program Named

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Posted on December 15, 2020

Joy Washington

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The Office of Community Engagement at the University of South Alabama announces the inaugural class of the Faculty Fellows Community Engagement and Service Learning Program. The 13 fellows chosen through a competitive process are full-time assistant and associate professors who represent six colleges in USA.

The fellows will work together to learn and redesign an academic course and/or a research project to help solve real-world issues locally in collaboration with community partners. The fellows' academic course redesign will incorporate project-based pedagogies where students work with faculty to apply what they are learning to real challenges in the community. The goal is to expand their civic knowledge and increase their ability to become agents of positive change. 

“The overall goals of the Community Engagement program are to develop a cohort/learning community of selected faculty members who work together to learn best practices in service-learning and community engagement, and to integrate service-learning into their teaching, research, and service work,” said Shannon Shelley-Tremblay, director of the Office of Community Engagement at South Alabama. “I look forward to working with this great team of faculty.”

The program will run from December 2020 to May 2021. The goals are for the fellows to experience diversity, better understand themselves when it comes to others, and develop new opportunities for students to learn in collaboration with community partners.

 “The USA Faculty Fellows will become recognized campus leaders in community engagement and service-learning pedagogy who are advancing USA's strategic priority of community engagement,” said Shelly-Tremblay. ”USA faculty leadership in community engagement is key to our focus on becoming a truly community-engaged university.”

  The fellows are looking forward to developing community-based learning opportunities that will enhance the experience and success of USA students, while supporting the community. They each will receive a $1,400 stipend, training materials, and ongoing support at the successful completion of the program.

 “I am delighted to have the opportunity as a USA Faculty Fellow to join a cohort of like-minded faculty committed to community engagement,” said Faculty Fellow Dr. Claire Cage, associate professor of history and gender studies. “I hope to gain support and resources for identifying which community needs and organizations could be best served by my courses and students.”

 The 2020-21 Faculty Fellows roster includes Dr. Adam Chupp, assistant professor of biological sciences; Dr. Alison Rudd, assistant professor of nursing simulation; Blair Saale, assistant professor of physical therapy; Charlene Dadzie, associate professor of marketing and quantitative methods; Claire Cage, associate professor of history and gender studies; Holly Peterson, assistant professor of political science and criminal justice; Jenny Manders, assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies; Jeremiah Henning, assistant professor of biology; Joyce Pittman, associate professor of community and mental health nursing; Khandokar Istiak, assistant professor  of economics, finance, and real estate; Reid Cummings, associate professor of economics, finance, and real estate; Shenghua Wu, assistant professor of civil engineering; and Victoria Henbest, assistant professor of speech-language pathology.  

For more information about the USA Faculty Fellows Program, send an email to communityengagement@southalabama.edu.

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