The Community Engagement Seminar Series is open to all members of the campus community. Please register to attend in person or on Zoom at tiny.utk.edu/CESS.
The 2025-2026 schedule is below. All sessions will be held on Fridays from 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
I. Fundamentals of Community Engagement
September 12: Community Engagement 101: Making it Mutual
Facilitators: Kristi Gordon and Javiette Samuel
Description: Key practices for creating mutually beneficial community-engaged partnerships, including defining intent and impact, ethos of care, building trust, shared governance, and mutual respect will be highlighted.
September 26: Introduction to the Knoxville Community
Facilitators: Amy Gilliland and Marcus Walker
Description: This session will introduce and explore the rich history of the communities adjacent to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus. Geohistorical information will be shared, as well as new considerations of various factors including income thresholds.
October 24: How to Connect Your Research Interests and Community Engagement
Facilitators: Tiffany Washington and Angela Pfammatter
Description: Many scholars separate their community engagement from their scholarship. In this session, two UTK faculty members will share how they have strategically combined their research interests with their community engagement efforts.
November 7: Building Partnerships in Knoxville
Facilitators: Jon Shefner, Lisa East, Tanika Harper, and Jennifer Bolden
Description: This session will discuss elements of mutually beneficial partnerships, social capital, and highlight a couple of UTK’s partners. Examples of current university-community partnerships and faculty projects will be shared, including a community partner and UTK faculty member sharing their experiences developing and launching a shared youth mental health program.
November 21: Ethical Collaborations and Power Sharing in Community Engagement
Facilitators: Sherley Cruz and Jud Laughter
Description: An introduction to best practices in ethical community engagement, shared decision-making, planning, and more will be explored.
II. Community Engagement in Practice
January 23: Community-Engaged Research & Collaborative Institutional Review Board
Facilitators: Hollie Raynor, Eboni Winford, and Rob Withrow
Description: This session will explore the considerations and requirements of the UTK Human Research Protection Program of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for community-engaged research. Resources, including tools for collaboration, will be shared.
February 6: Community-Engaged Teaching & Learning Panel
Facilitators: Amy Gilliland, Ferlin McGaskey, and Meghan Conley
Description: Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning can range from guest speakers to participatory community-based research projects. These panelists will share examples from their classrooms, describe the service-learning designation, and discuss the intersections with Vol Edge and Engaged Inquiries.
February 20: Community-Engaged Research Panel
Facilitators: Melinda Gibbons, Erin Darby, Lyndsey Hornbuckle, and Francis Harper
Description: A variety of community-engaged research methods and applications will be explored, along with differences between broader impacts and broadening participation and best practices in integrating community
March 27: Presenting & Publishing Community-Engaged Scholarship
Facilitators: Amy Gilliland, Sharon Jean-Philippe, and Javiette Samuel
Description: An important aspect of community-engaged scholarship is sharing your findings with others through conference presentations, journal articles, and more. Key resources for publication and potential conference information will be shared.
April 10: Community Voice in Community-Engaged Scholarship
Facilitators: Kimberly Pettigrew, Megan Barolet-Fogarty, and Cynthia Finch
Description: During this session, community leaders who collaborate with faculty and staff at UTK will share best practices, lessons learned, and more.
Please register to attend in person or on Zoom at tiny.utk.edu/CESS.
2024-2025 Topics included:
- Introduction to the Knoxville Community
- Rules of Engagement: Making it Mutual
- What You Don’t Know that You Don’t Know: Cultural Humility and Community Engagement
- Ethical Collaborations and Power Sharing in Community Engagement
- Building Partnerships in Knoxville
- Community Engagement Advocacy and Civic Engagement
- Community-Engaged Research and Collaborative Institutional Review Board
- Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning Panel
- Community-Engaged Research and Publishing
- Community Voice in Community-Engaged Scholarship