Inaugural UW Faculty Engagement Fellows Symposium Scheduled Dec. 2

The University of Wyoming Office of Engagement and Outreach (OEO) will host its first Faculty Engagement Fellows Symposium -- in a virtual format -- Wednesday, Dec. 2.

The 2019 UW Faculty Engagement Fellows will present their projects at 5 p.m. via Zoom. To view the presentations, go to https://uwyo.zoom.us/j/91253523512.

The three fellows are Caleb Hill, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry; Corrine Knapp, an assistant professor in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources; and Tawnya Plumb, an associate librarian in the College of Law.

The goal of the fellowship program is to invite proposals from a broad range of disciplines across UW from people working in public engagement, engaged teaching, engaged scholarship and outreach focused on community impacts. Fellows receive both a stipend and funds for expenses related to their projects.

The fellows’ project titles and brief descriptions of their projects are:

-- Hill will present “Measure Anything: Educating Wyoming about Measurement Science.” The project aims to improve high school students’ understanding of scientific measurements through hands-on activities in their respective schools and through student-directed research projects that use analytical resources at UW.

-- Knapp will present “Building Transdisciplinary Capacity at the University of Wyoming.” The project is to develop transdisciplinary research on campus and in Wyoming communities, contributing to OEO’s strategic plan.

-- Plumb will present “Access to Justice: Legal Research on the Road.” She says many individuals find legal research intimidating, and she adds that librarians wish they knew more about legal research. Librarians often field requests from low-income Wyoming citizens with legal issues, she says, and her project will help access legal assistance to those in need.

The fellows worked directly with OEO, UW’s Engagement Council and faculty across campus to build UW’s capacity in the area of identified community engagement and outreach, says Richard Raridon, a member of the UW Engagement Council. Each of the fellows’ projects has a statewide and campus component, and includes a discussion on potential community college and K-12 collaborations.

“Having served as one of the reviewers for these proposals for the past two years, it has been inspiring to see the creativity, passion and commitment to engaging with and serving communities across the state represented in all of the applications from faculty in all corners of campus,” Raridon says. “I am excited that we are now at a point to start sharing more of this information with the community at large.”

For more information, email Raridon at rraridon@uwyo.edu.