UT-REACH for May 24, 2012
UT-REACH is ordinarily published once a week.
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"Universities have a responsibility to look after the well-being of the planet, not as stand-alone beacons of knowledge, but as places where wisdom of communities,
eco-systems and the academy work together in partnerships for a world that is more sustainable and just".
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Global Communique on Sustainability, Knowledge and Higher Education:
“Big Tent" Group of over 5,000 universities and civil society research organizations
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UT OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT:
NATIONAL NEWS:
3.
Released today: U.S. 2011 Human Rights Reports
5.
Imagining America launches peer-reviewed online journal
CONFERENCES & COUNCILS:
7.
Landmark conference: “Public Participation in Scientific Research”
8. National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality requests member nominations
FUNDING
9.
Grad Student stipends for disability determination processes (DDP)
10.
Funding Announcements: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
11.
NSF announces funding for Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)
NEW READINGS & RESOURCES:
12.
Chronicle: “Teaching Ph.D’s How to Reach Out”
13.
Grant outreach idea? From Cornell: “Citizen Science Central”
14.
Bringing Theory To Practice: Civic Provocations (AACU, 2012)
15.
2011 Kettering Review now online
16.
Higher Ed’s democratic mission: 2011 Higher Education Exchange
JOBS & INTERNSHIPS:
18.
Volunteer Tennessee seeks Deputy Director of Programs
20.
Kettering Foundation seeks research assistants, associates, and fellows
QUICK LINKS: ENGAGEMENT PAPERS, CONFERENCES, AND MORE:
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UT OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT:
A groundbreaking study conducted by University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researchers sheds light on the strengths and weaknesses of communities in Appalachia.
The report, “Strategies for Economic Improvement in Appalachia’s Distressed Rural Counties,” was conducted for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a regional economic development
agency that represents a partnership of federal, state, and local government. It provides an understanding of the challenges confronting economic and community development efforts in ten rural counties and explains ways local governments, agencies, and community
organizations plan and respond to challenging issues. The report details how five formerly distressed communities improved their local economies, and illustrates the issues confronting counties still classified as distressed.
Tim Ezzell, research scientist and lead author, co-authored the report with Dayton Lambert, agricultural economist at UT’s Institute
of Agriculture, and Eric Ogle, research associate.
Internationally renowned motivational speakers Paul Nussbaum and Tamara Kleinberg will join students from around the world in the
Destination ImagiNation Global Finals May 23-26 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The competition is one of UT’s largest outreach activities of the year and draws about
15,000 elementary, middle, and high school youth to compete in activities that encourage creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking skills.
NATIONAL NEWS:
3.
Released today: U.S. 2011 Human Rights Reports
The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Reports – cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements. The U.S. Department of State submits reports on all countries receiving assistance and all United Nations member states to the U.S. Congress in accordance with the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974.
"It is time to decolonize our universities and learn from the diverse ecologies of knowledge about how to live sustainably", notes Dr. Rajesh Tandon from India, a UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social
Responsibility in Higher Education from India. As a contribution to the RIO + 20 United Nations and Global Civil Society conference Sustainability taking place in June in Rio de Janeiro, the Higher Education Treaty Circle and the Horizon 2020 process in Europe,
the "Big Tent" Group of regional and global networks of civil society and higher education networks with a total membership of over 5,000 universities and civil society research organizations. Canada's Budd Hall from the University of Victoria says,
"This is the first statement agreed upon by so many higher education networks calling for a deep examination of the need to re-examine whose knowledge counts and how we can co-construct new disciplines for a new world."
5.
Imagining America launches peer-reviewed online journal
The IA journal will promote the documentation, evaluation, investigation, and analysis of theories and practices integrating arts and culture in public partnerships.
Of central concern will be cross-sector collaborations that involve diverse participants and disciplines, and respond to critical issues in local, regional, national, and international contexts. The journal’s peer-evaluation process will assure that published
work meets the rigorous expectations of public scholarship and project-based work by diverse representatives of expertise. The
first call for submissions will be issued soon.
CONFERENCES & COUNCILS:
PASCAL International Observatory will host its 10th annual conference on the role of Higher Education in local and regional social and economical development at the Western Brittany
University (UBO) from October 29-31, 2012. PASCAL connects policy makers, practitioners and researchers to exchange cutting-edge knowledge and practices that foster regional development that balances economic efficiency and social equity. Conference will
be in English. Conference Themes: local development in the context of an aging population; healthy cities; contribution of universities in a time of crisis; the role of higher education institutions in remote regions and territorial impact
Proposal submission deadline: June 25, 2012; full papers due Oct. 9, 2012 (to be published)
Details:
(select “EN” at top left for English-language content)
7.
Landmark conference: “Public Participation in Scientific Research”
With the rapid growth and innovation of public participation in scientific research (PPSR),
practitioners are in need of a venue for sharing insights across projects and fields of study. This landmark event will convene science researchers, project leaders, educators, technology specialists, evaluators, and others from across many disciplines (including
astronomy, molecular biology, human and environmental health, and ecology) to discuss advancing the field of PPSR. The PPSR Conference is being held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), a venue that has long been
supportive of citizen science and that always welcomes practitioners from diverse fields. We hope that all who are interested in the future of the field of PPSR will join us this August!
June 14th
- ESA's Early Bird registration discount closes, 5pm EST*
July 16th
- ESA's regular registration closes, 5pm EST
August 4-5
– Conference in Portland, Oregon
8. National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality requests member nominations
The Council advises the Secretary of HHS and the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on activities of the Agency to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. Seven current members' terms expire in November 2012. Council seeks individuals who are distinguished: (1) in the conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; (2) in the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; (3) in the practice of medicine; (4) in other health professions; (5) in representing the private health care sector (including health plans, providers, and purchasers) or administrators of health care delivery systems; (6) in the fields of health care economics, information systems, law, ethics, business, or public policy; and, (7) in representing the interests of patients and consumers of health care. 42 U.S.C. 299c(c)(2). Individuals are particularly sought with experience and success in activities specified in the summary above.
Key Date: deadline July 3, 2012.
FUNDING
9.
Grad Student stipends for disability determination processes (DDP)
The DDP Small Grant Program
awards one-year, $10,000 stipends for graduate-level research on improving disability determination processes. DDP allows graduate students to conduct supervised independent research on improving the efficiency and reducing
the complexity of disability determination processes. Policy Research, Inc (PRI) is pleased to announce the second round of this federally-funded stipend program.
Key Date: Application deadline May 31, 2012.
10.
Funding Announcements: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
PCORI Funding Announcements have been issued to support a portfolio of comparative clinical effectiveness research based on PCORI’s
National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda. PCORI’s first Research Agenda includes five broad areas: (1) Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options; (2) Improving Healthcare Systems; (3) Communication and Dissemination Research;
(4) Addressing Disparities; and (5) Accelerating Patient-Centered Outcomes Research and Methodological Research (not yet released - coming for Summer, 2012)
Deadlines (all programs): Letter of Intent: June 15, 2012; Application deadline:
July 31, 2012 (two more annual deadlines anticipated)
11.
NSF announces funding for Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)
(Replaces ISE-Informal Science Education) The AISL solicitation invites investigators to propose ideas, concepts, models, and other opportunities for learning and learning environments that will capture the creative and innovative potential of informal STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning for the future, and potentially forge new connections across all STEM learning communities. Leveraging new and emerging technologies, STEM learning can now be located and situated wherever the learner is and customized to meet the learner's educational needs. New interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships for informal learning among academia, industry, and government can greatly advance our nation's goals to produce a scientifically and technologically literate population and workforce. Anticipated FY2013 funding: $20 Million; estimated number of awards: 34.
Key Dates: Preliminary proposals due August 13, 2012; Full proposals due January 14, 2013.
Read More
NEW READINGS & RESOURCES:
12.
Chronicle: “Teaching Ph.D’s How to Reach Out”
“The legendary historian Charles A. Beard once said that to earn a master's degree you study one coal mine, and to earn a Ph.D. you study two. . . Ph.D.'s
have to do specialized work, and they should. "Public Ph.D.'s" are simply scholars who see the work that they do in terms of its propagation as well as its contribution to a specialty or subspecialty. By thinking about how to communicate knowledge at the same
time they create it, they turn their creative powers outward.”
13.
Grant outreach idea? From Cornell: “Citizen Science Central”
The growing field of public participation in scientific research (PPSR, see above) includes citizen science, volunteer monitoring, and other forms of
organized research in which members of the public engage in the process of scientific investigations: asking questions, collecting data, and/or interpreting results.
Cornell has developed a
great model in this online community toolkit:
14.
Bringing Theory To Practice: Civic Provocations (AACU, 2012)
Edited by Donald W. Harward. Civic Provocations: Informal essays, provocations, that support and deepen inclusive and intentional campus-based
consideration of an institution’s own civic mission and the civic mission of higher education today
15.
2011 Kettering Review now online
The Kettering Review is a journal of ideas and activities dedicated to improving the quality of public life in the American democracy. Each issue addresses a single theme, including the changing roles of the citizen, the press, public leadership, and
public opinion. Contributors include a diverse group of American and international educators, historians, philosophers, and social and political scientists.
The Kettering Foundation is a good funding source for engagement folk to know about, too.
16.
Higher Ed’s democratic mission: 2011 Higher Education Exchange
Also published by the Kettering Foundation, this annual publication serves as a forum for new ideas and dialogue between scholars and the larger public. Essays explore ways that students, administrators, and faculty can initiate and sustain an ongoing conversation
about the public life they share. The Higher Education Exchange is part of a movement to strengthen higher education’s democratic mission and foster a more democratic culture throughout American society.
PCHP's latest issue highlights the efforts of W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations to promote and legitimize data that supports health
initiatives within Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. This special issue on community-based participatory research within communities-of-color "demonstrate the value of national advocacy organizations to bridge traditional
community-research barriers, advance evidence-based research, and inform health policy."
Read more
JOBS & INTERNSHIPS:
18.
Volunteer Tennessee seeks Deputy Director of Programs
(Nashville, TN) Position supports National Service programs to meet compelling community needs, strengthen communities and build a lifelong
ethic of service among National Service participants. Essential Functions:1. Supervise Program Managers and coordinate with Executive Director on staffing decisions and agency direction; 2. Develop and implement strategies to maintain or expand funding of
National Service programs, with special focus on federal and state funding; 3. Constantly scan for organizational and funding opportunities and threats, developing effective responses as called for; 4. Oversee grants application processes to administer federal
funding; 5. Monitor sub-grantee performance through review and feedback of progress and financial reports; 6. Develop sub-grantee contracts, annual monitoring plan, program technical assistance plans, and federal reports; 7. Participate in state and national
grantee meetings, and assist in responding to public information requests related to National Service; 8. Develop National Service strategic plans, policy documents and reports; and 9. Provide support to 6-8 AmeriCorps*State programs through regular communication
with AmeriCorps program directors, host agencies and federal funding agency.
Key Date: Apply by June 15, 2012
20.
Kettering Foundation seeks research assistants, associates, and fellows
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Research Assistants
Kettering seeks full time research assistants at its Dayton, Ohio, office. Especially encouraged: those with interests in topics such as deliberative democracy, civic engagement, social capital, civic education, civil society, and social movements.
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Research Associates
Kettering offers one-year research positions at our Dayton, Ohio, office to doctoral candidates. During their tenure, associates review relevant literature in support of selected foundation projects and provide research support for and participate in staff
meetings and various exchanges.
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Katherine W. Fanning International Fellowship for Journalism and Democracy
Kettering invites journalists and scholars of journalism outside the United States to spend up
to six months working with us to explore the role of the media in a democratic society and the obligations of journalists to public life.
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Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship on Native American Forums
In research done for Kettering, Ruth Yellowhawk showed that a legacy of tribal deliberation has carried over into modern day decision making. The foundation wishes to delve more deeply into this legacy and its contemporary applications. Fellows are selected
on the basis of proposals to tell the stories of either historical or contemporary decision making in tribal communities.
QUICK LINKS: ENGAGEMENT PAPERS, CONFERENCES, AND MORE:
May 2012:
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Community Engagement Symposium, “Voices of Justice,” at Carson-Newman. Register
by May 28, 2012.
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Call for papers: 7th Annual Kentucky Engagement Conference. Deadline May 31, 2012.
June 2012:
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PAGE Fellowships for Graduate Students. Apply by June 1, 2012
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International “Town & Gown” Conference in Kentucky. June 4-8, 2012
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Volunteer Tennessee seeks Deputy Director of Programs. Deadline June 15, 2012.
July 2012:
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Proposals for Spencer Foundation Small Grants. Deadline: July 1, 2012
August 2012:
October 2012:
January 2013:
Ongoing:
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Call
for papers: eJournal of Public Affairs on Public Scholarship. Ongoing