This month, the Center for Community-Engaged Learning (CCEL) hosted the second session of the Community-Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT) Fellowship, bringing together our 2026–2027 Faculty Fellows and their community partner leads at the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub in Pillsbury Hall. This key session formally oriented both our 2026–2027 Faculty Fellows and their community partner leads to the fellowship's core pedagogical framework.
By grounding the cohort in the Co-Design Model and asset-based engagement, the session re-oriented traditional course design. Partners were introduced to the framework positioning faculty as Academic Leads—guiding academic integration, syllabus rigor, and grading—and community leaders as Community Experts, guiding organizational context, strategic priorities, and deliverable utility
With this shared framework in place, faculty-partner pairs collaborated through Milestone 1: The Big 5 Partnership Blueprint, co-designing tangible deliverables (such as policy briefs, youth toolkits, and research evaluations) while establishing clear communication protocols and graceful exit guardrails for the upcoming academic year.
Together, faculty-partner pairs completed their first collaborative milestone: The Big 5 Partnership Blueprint, answering five essential questions for sustainable collaboration:
- The WHAT: Identifying tangible, high-level deliverables (such as policy briefs, youth toolkits, and research evaluations) that address authentic community partner needs that align with academic learning objectives.
- The WHO: Establishing clear roles, student communication protocols, and primary points of contact.
- The HOW: Mapping a structured check-in schedule aligned with the semester timeline.
- The IF: Crafting proactive guardrails to adjust project scope if community partner capacity or staffing shifts mid-semester.
- The SUCCESS: Defining shared metrics of impact for students, faculty, and community partners alike.
"I think everyone left energized and excited about the work ahead," said Jennifer Hall-Lande.
To learn more about the CELT Fellowship or explore upcoming community-engaged learning partnerships reach out to Dr. Susi Keefe at [email protected].
To discover other professional development opportunities for community-engaged faculty, staff, and students, visit the Engaged Scholar event listings.