The 4th Annual Engage Dallas Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium is taking place on November 5–6, and we’d love for you to be there! Registration is free and open to all through the button below.
We can’t wait to gather with community leaders, educators, students, and neighbors from across DFW for two days of meaningful learning and engagement.
The RSVP deadline is October 24, 2025, so don’t miss this community-based professional development opportunity.
The 4th Annual Engage Dallas Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium is taking place on November 5–6, and we’d love for you to be there! Registration is free and open to all through the button below.
This year’s keynote address will invite us to reflect deeply on how place-based engagement can bridge divides and foster meaningful belonging within the community. Our keynote speaker, Krista Nightengale, brings a wealth of experience in journalism, non-profit management, and community building. Krista will challenge us to think about what it truly means to thrive together.
Alongside thought-provoking talks, you’ll also have the chance to experience connection firsthand. Day two of the symposium will feature an interactive activity, presented by ArtStillery. Believing that audiences should be more than spectators, ArtStillery breaks the fourth wall to create an experiential performance style that fosters immersive theater. Be prepared to be immersed at this year’s symposium.
We can’t wait to gather with community leaders, educators, students, and neighbors from across DFW for two days of meaningful learning and engagement.
The RSVP deadline is October 24, 2025.
Krista Nightengale began her career in journalism when she stumbled into the fascinating world of urban design. She discovered the Better Block Foundation, an international, urban design nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities and their leaders to reshape and reactivate built environments to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods. In her nearly 10 years at the Better Block, Krista has worked with neighbors in more than 100 cities to rethink streets, turn parking lots to plazas, and identify the barriers keeping communities from enjoying their public spaces. The work has resulted in economic development, calmed streets, and has lowered crime rates. But most importantly, it brings neighbors together. Krista has built hundreds of digitally fabricated benches, kiosks, and survey stands. She uses social media to educate around placemaking and transportation, and she’s a pretty adequate drone operator (as long as there’s no wind).
Krista was most recently on the Dallas City Plan and Zoning Commission, the Dallas Comprehensive Land Use Committee, past-president of the Dallas Architecture and Design Exchange board, former AIA Dallas Board Member, former member of the Dallas Commission on Homelessness, and a graduate of Leadership Texas.
Artstillery is a multidisciplinary arts & social justice organization that uplifts marginalized voices by working alongside community members to shape their narratives into original immersive productions.
Founded in 2016, Artstillery creates performances centered around issues of racial, cultural, and social injustice. Sometimes a story needs a storyteller, but that starts with listening. Our process begins with research using a combination of community outreach and interviews. We combine these stories with an interdisciplinary artistic approach that creates a ‘total theatre’ experience. Artstillery’s goal is to give a voice to people who feel they have none.
After a year full of service, connection, and impact, Engage Dallas is excited to share the 2024–2025 End-of-Year Report. This year, the initiative continued to grow with the launch of the Stampede Service Day for first-year and transfer students, the expansion of the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium, and the introduction of new service experiences like the winter alternative break trip and academic courses connected to community service projects.
Students collectively served over 1,700 hours and contributed to meaningful projects alongside 33 community partners, with 29 students earning graduation proficiencies and building lasting relationships in the Dallas community. From murals and mentoring to community film projects and hands-on service, the work captured in this report highlights the dedication and creativity of our students, staff, and partners. Check out the full report below.
Thank you for your continued support of Engage Dallas. We look forward to an exciting fall semester—stay connected and stay engaged!
Engage Dallas is seeking to hire one faculty grader to assume responsibility for managing weekly grading of the Engage Dallas Canvas Courses. Grading is estimated to take 2-3 hours weekly.
About Engage Dallas
Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative.
Engage Dallas learning modules are facilitated via Canvas Learning Management System. All students are automatically enrolled in the Engage Dallas Canvas Course in order to complete the required modules for participating in service events. Students who intend to use Engage Dallas to earn the Community Engagement and/or the Civic and Individual Ethics Proficiency & Experience for the Common Curriculum will be enrolled in a 2nd Canvas Course to track their progress. Grading occurs in both courses.
The following strategic goals guide the work of the Engage Dallas initiative:
Position Description
Engage Dallas grading centers the “4 Cs” learning outcomes originally developed by Mesa Community College. The four Cs include (1) communication, (2) civic engagement, (3) critical thinking, and (4) cultural and global engagement. Engage Dallas student reflections should address one of the four Cs.
Modules that prompt student reflection include, but are not limited to:
Note, some reflections are submitted in essay style, while others may be submitted in a creative format such as art reflections, interviews, or letters.
Major Position Responsibilities
Grading Schedule
Position Requirements
Compensation Structure
Graders for Engage Dallas are paid a stipend of $3,500 divided into installments. The Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and Academic Success will not request or require a time sheet to document actual hours worked, but instead will take the weekly gradebook export as an indication of the work agreement.
It is the responsibility of the grader to notify the Co-Initiative Manager and Assistant Provost if the job responsibilities cannot be completed.
To apply, please send a letter of interest and your CV to Dr. Dustin Grabsch (dgrabsch@smu.edu) by 5pm on Monday, June 30, 2025. Interviews and selection will be completed by July 31, 2025, with a start date of August 1.
Community partners and campus leaders gathered at the Moody Graduate School on April 9th for the 3rd Annual One Night for Dallas reception, celebrating the impact of community engagement on the Hilltop.
This year’s theme was “Dallas is Home,” and keynote addresses were delivered by the Executive Director of the Budd Center, Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly, and SMU Professor in Creative Advertising Willie Baronet. Baronet also serves as the Armstrong Faculty-in-Residence and creator of the We Are All Homeless Project.
One Night for Dallas was also an opportunity for campus and community partners to hear from our Student Directors and why they participate in Engage Dallas. For Loyd Commons Student Director Kate Alonzo ‘26, her ”why” is personal.
“We can look at community service as serving the community. But South Dallas is not just a community, it’s my community,” Alonzo said. “Engage Dallas enables me to serve my own hometown, and I’m proud of that.”
The annual celebration is a joint effort between Engage Dallas and the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement (SCIE), reflecting upon the collective impact that SMU students have had on the community during the academic year. Engage Dallas was proud to highlight that 571 students collectively spent 1,378 hours directly serving the community across 41 student-led service events during the 2023-24 academic school year.
Danielle Palomo, Coordinator for Community Engagement, reflected on the work of SCIE community engagement student organizations.
“Reflecting on Alternative Breaks, one student said, ‘It was a valuable experience and something I’ll never forget. I was able to form relationships and help people start a new life here which was amazing.,’” Palomo shared. ” I could not be prouder of our students and looks forward to all the work they continue to do to serve their city.”
The night ended with remarks from Engage Dallas Initiative Manager Audryanna Reed and the presentation of campus and community-nominated awards. Award Recipients are as follows:
Outstanding Community Partner
Do Good for Dallas Award
Outstanding Student Leader
Outstanding Student Director
Outstanding Faculty and Staff
Engage Dallas would like to thank the staff, faculty, students, and community partners again for their participation and support. We look forward to celebrating again on April 9, 2025!