Join the Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning Research Cluster of the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute (DCII) as we explore community engagement in higher education through a faculty and staff book club and an accompanying research study.
Faculty and Staff Book Club
Join us for our book club, which will center on two core texts:
- Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by bell hooks and
- Educating for Citizenship and Social Justice: Practices for Community Engagement at Research Universities, edited by Tania D. Mitchell and Krista M. Soria.
Together, these works invite meaningful conversations about systemic inequities, ethical university-community partnerships, and how teaching and learning can foster civic responsibility and social change.
All faculty and staff are welcome to join. Books will be provided and can be picked up from the Office of General Education, Laura Lee Blanton Building, Suite 338. Participants will receive the four-meeting reading schedule upon registration. The first meeting will take place on November 17, from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.
Call for Research Participants
We also invite faculty, staff, and students to participate in a research study exploring experiences, opportunities, and challenges related to community-engaged teaching, learning, and research at SMU.
Your insights, shared through a confidential 45–60 minute interview, will help shape a deeper understanding of how institutional culture and values influence community engagement at SMU. Interviews will occur in November 2025.
If you have questions about the DCII Community-Engaged Teaching & Learning Research Cluster, please contact Dr. Dustin Grabsch at dgrabsch@smu.edu.
SMU IRB# 25-106