Researchers are often presented with tough choices in their scholarly careers: either engage in the community or do peer-reviewed research. The recently reported a story about how , a center based in the CU-Boulder School of Education, has launched a unique student fellowship that enables future scholars to do both.
The Graduate Fellowship in Community-Based Research, now in its first year, provides doctoral students with funding to study a public issue together with  a community partner. Six doctoral students are part of the inaugural class of fellows, thanks to a partnership between CU Engage, the Office of Outreach and Engagement, and the Provost's Office. The fellows are working with their partners to investigate issues such as indoor air quality, refugee identities and transitions, and food insecurity ().
Ben Kirshner, faculty director for CU Engage and associate professor of learning sciences and human development, said higher education is often lacking in support for graduate students to "weave together their new and emerging scholarship expertise with issues people care about." The one-of-its-kind fellowship offers a jumpstart for graduate students interested in integrating community-based work into their research moving forward.
Recently, the turned attention to public scholarship when the Virginia Tech engineers were the first researchers to verify and report the now famous problems with the water supply in Flint, Michigan. Additionally, a special report by the asked whether university researchers were adequately addressing society’s biggest problems. Kirshner points to these examples as evidence of public interest in community-based research that can impact public policy and help community and government leaders seek better solutions.
"Ultimately we produce the most rigorous and the most scientifically sound work when it is founded in problems of everyday practice or issues affecting us as a broader public," Kirshner told the Daily Camera.
Related Faculty: Ben Kirshner