Community-engaged teaching, research and creative work take center stage at K-State symposium

Kansas State University will host a free symposium for its faculty and graduate students, as well as Manhattan-area community members, on Friday, Feb. 13, to strengthen community-engaged teaching, research and creative work.

Bridging Campus and Community: Arts and Sciences Engagement Symposium will offer a keynote presentation and a variety of sessions starting at 9:30 a.m. in Hale Library. It will culminate in a participatory music performance at 7 p.m. in the K-State Student Union. Attendees are welcome to come and go as they please. Advance registration is requested.

“This symposium is for anyone interested in building meaningful partnerships and enriching student learning through community engagement,” said Claudia Nazario, teaching assistant professor of Spanish and symposium planning committee member. “Participants will gain practical strategies for expanding the impact of their work beyond the university and for incorporating applied learning experiences into their courses.”

As a next-generation land-grant university, K-State is committed to engaging with and positively impacting communities in Kansas and beyond.

Highlights include a curriculum and syllabus design workshop led by the keynote presenter; a panel of Manhattan community organizations; presentations by K-State faculty members who have led successful engagement projects; networking opportunities; and an orchestral performance featuring K-State students and faculty alongside community members.

The guest presenters are Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, professor of integrated design at the Parsons School of Design at The New School, a practitioner and scholar of social design and design education and an internationally exhibited artist; Evren Uzer, associate professor of strategic design and urban practice at Parsons, a New York City-based educator, urban planner and community practitioner working on civic engagement in planning and design; and J. Clay Gonzalez, a composer, director and producer specializing in site-specific, large-scale musical works that engage communities in collaborative sound-making.

Gonzalez invites community members to help bring to life his participatory sonic immersion piece, "Eight Quilts for the School," commissioned by the Tallgrass Artist Residency and named for quilts by Kansas artist Michelle Wolfe. More information about participating in this project can be found on the symposium website.

Manhattan community panelists include Stephen Bridenstine, Flint Hills Discovery Center; Kendra Kuhlman, Manhattan Arts Center; Daniel Skucius, Riley County Extension Director; and Kelly Yarbrough, Tallgrass Artist Residency.

K-State faculty presenters include Priscilla Brenes, Extension assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences; Lisa Melander, professor of sociology; Heather McCrea, associate professor of history; Valerie Padilla Carroll, professor and interim head of social transformation studies; and Ania Payne, assistant professor of English.

The symposium is supported by K-State’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of External Engagement, the Chapman Center for Rural Studies, the Staley School of Leadership, and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

For more information, contact Syneva Colle, teaching assistant professor in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, at scolle@k-state.edu.

— Submitted by Marcia Locke