Communities, state to benefit from K-State Center for Engagement and Community Development grant projects

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Source: David Procter, 785-532-7260, dprocter@k-state.edu

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

COMMUNITIES, STATE TO BENEFIT FROM K-STATE CENTER FOR ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROJECTS

MANHATTAN -- Projects involving various Kansas communities and issues have been selected for grants from Kansas State University's Center for Engagement and Community Development. According to David Procter, center director, the following projects, all involving K-State faculty members and various community services, have been funded:

* The development of a pilot learning community at Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community, Manhattan. The project would involve K-State, Meadowlark Hills, Manhattan Area Technical College, K-State Research and Extension and the Kansas Association for Homes and Services for the Aging. It would include an integrated internship program, using student interns from as many as 20 K-State programs who would work at Meadowlark Hills one day a week in leadership, team building and problem-solving activities; coordinated research and its applied implications for the retirement community; and addressing lifelong learning needs of Meadowlark Hills residents, as well as developing high quality staff education. The principal investigator for the project is Gayle Doll, K-State Center on Aging. Also involved are K-State's Jane Fishback, associate professor, adult education; Janice Dinkel, associate professor of social work; and Debra Sellers, aging specialist, K-State Research and Extension. Project partners also include Steve Shields, Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community; Linda Hertzel, Manhattan Area Technical College; and Debra Zehr, Kansas Association for Homes and Services for the Aging.

* Expanding Institutional Markets and Local Food Production in the Kansas River Valley is a project to engage K-State faculty, local farmers and ranchers, and local institutional, school system and restaurant buyers to build a sustainable food system. The project will be a pilot experiment and demonstration of how local food systems can augment the current industrial model of food production and supply. An Internet-based brokerage system will be introduced, developed by K-State and the Kansas Rural Center. Intended outcomes include K-State researchers learning the information needs of local food producers and buyers; connecting local producers and buyers and identifying the constraints and challenges of local food demands; and connecting local buyers and consumers with local suppliers and producers, as well as providing information on where to purchase local foods through the Internet-based brokerage system. Principal investigator for the project is Rhonda Janke, associate professor horticulture, forestry and recreation resources. Project partners also include Dan Nagengast, director, Kansas Rural Center; and K-State's Ted Carey, professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources; Peter Garfinkel, graduate student in horticulture; Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, associate professor of agricultural economics; and Theresa Selfa, assistant professor of sociology.

* Building Bridges with Rural Communities: Building Web Site Templates to Support Rural Communities and Immigrant Populations in the Great Plains is based on strategies formed from a 2006 pilot project in Junction City. The strategies show how K-State can work with rural communities to immediately address cross-linguistic communications problems, as well as how to sustain that effort through the use of Web sites developed with the involvement of the Hispanic community. Among the project's goals are involving K-State students and faculty in service learning; community-based participatory research and applying interdisciplinary research to solve key public problems; providing technical assistance to a wide variety of community communication issues; identifying and fostering community experts to lead local aspects of the project, and training the experts to assist their fellow citizens in their incorporation into rural communities; and identifying local resource development. Principal investigators are K-State's Tom Gould, associate professor of journalism and mass communications, and Bradley Shaw, associate professor of modern languages. Project partners are K-State's Doug Benson, professor of modern languages, and Jim Coffman, provost emeritus.

* The Impact of Civic Discourse on Citizen Participation in the Political Process will increase K-State's engagement with Kansas communities on important community issues. Objectives of the project include conducting public forums on whether smoking should be regulated using a booklet and video, "Burning Both Ends: A Community Discussion on Regulating Smoking, created by K-State's Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. The project also will seek to engage community research to study the impact of public forums on citizen participation. The research will include focus groups, observations, photographic documentation and video taping for process analysis, body language and interaction. Another objective is to enhance awareness and involvement of K-State outreach initiatives through the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy and the Center for Engagement and Community Development. Principal investigators are K-State's Larry Erickson, director of the Center for Hazardous Substance Research, and Marie Steichen, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. Project partners include Lynn Crabtree, American Lung Association; Mike Bradshaw, K-State Research and Extension; Charlene Brownson, UFM Community Learning Center; Erika Imbody, K-State Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy; Joan Smith, Riley County Health Department; Gina Frack, Norton County Health Department; and Bruce Snead, Manhattan City Commission.