Skip to content Skip to main navigation Report an accessibility issue

Community Engagement Academy

The Community Engagement Academy (CEA) is an interdisciplinary professional development program designed for new UTK faculty (0-3 years), postdocs, and graduate students interested in applying the fundamental concepts of community engagement, academic outreach, and community-engaged scholarship  to their research, teaching, and practice. Offered by the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach (OCEO), the CEA provides two distinct programs: a three-day Summer Intensive Program specifically for graduate students, and a five-week Fall Program open to new UT faculty (0-three years), postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students. Participants must apply and be selected to join a cohort.

The Academy aims to impart foundational knowledge of community engagement and engaged scholarship, enabling participants to apply this knowledge in their research and practice. Through interactive sessions, guided discussions, and a geohistorical community tour, participants will explore grand challenges and real-world solutions. Benefits include a foundational knowledge of community-engaged scholarship, individual consultation, access to background literature, strategies for successful engagement activities, and tips for publishing community-engaged scholarship. These components are designed to enhance participants’ understanding and practice of community-engaged scholarship throughout Knoxville and East Tennessee by creating new partnerships and/or building upon existing ones.

Emerging engagement scholars enrolled in the CEA will participate in seminars that cover various aspects of community engagement. Participants can expect the following benefits.

  • Access to an annotated list of interdisciplinary journals that focus on community-engaged scholarship
  • Tips for publishing community-engaged scholarship
  • Access to scholarly resources
  • Promotion and tenure/career guidance from successfully tenured community-engaged faculty
  • A new network of CEA alumni and other engaged scholars and colleagues

Applications are closed.

Additional optional opportunities for further engagement are available through OCEO initiatives. The OCEO is committed to principles of empowerment, shared governance, reciprocity, the co-creation of knowledge, and mutual decision-making. Seminars are co-led by UT faculty, staff, community partners, and national experts.