Faculty Opportunities

At Slippery Rock University, academic community engagement is utilized as a powerful pedagogy to transform the intellectual, social, and leadership capacities of students to serve the common good and work toward the betterment of self and society.

WHAT IS ACADEMIC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT?

Academic Community Engagement, commonly referred to as ACE, integrates meaningful community engagement with instruction and reflection to enhance the learning experience, promote civic responsibility, and strengthen communities (SRU 2024). ACE courses may integrate a range of teaching and learning strategies and structures including, but not limited to: service-learning, internships, practicums, clinicals, capstone, research projects, field experiences, practice-based learning, and other forms of experiential learning. Key components that distinguish a teaching and learning strategy or structure as ACE is: (1) that it enhances understanding of course content and is connected to specific learning goals through consciously designed community activities and critical reflection, (2) that one of the learning goals is civic learning and engagement, intended to enhance students' sense of personal responsibility to address pressing social or public issues of concern , and (3) it is based on a reciprocal relationship through which the community activities are planned and implemented through collaboration with a community partner to meet the interests, challenges, or priorities identified by that partner. Slippery Rock University's ACE definition & standards of practice are based on six (6) value-informed attributes that characterize the practice and define the standard for each.

Ace Pathways

The ACE Pathways refer to the diverse ways through which students, faculty, administrators, organizational partners, and even community residents collaborate through academic community engagement partnerships.

For SRU faculty, the ACE Pathway is the application process for designating a course as ACE. It is based on best practices and assists faculty in infusing high-quality standards into their engaged teaching through the provision of assistance, resources, and support from the CCE.

Benefits of the ACE course designation for faculty include:

• OPPORTUNITY to enhance your teaching, scholarship, and service! 
• ASSISTANCE with community partnership development if needed. 
• FUNDING that is built into the Pathway - no separate process nor additional reporting requirements. 
• SUPPORT with integration of best practices into your academic community engagement courses. 
• TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT catered to your needs. 
• ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS for your students' civic learning AND community-university partnership outcomes. 
• OUTCOMES REPORT based on the organization and statistical analysis of your data. 
• DESIGNATION as an ACE FACULTY for recognition and continuing professional development opportunities.

For more information, see the ACE Frequently Asked Questions.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND OPPORTUNITIES

Individual or department/Program Consultations:
Faculty who are interested in learning more about how to add an academic community engagement component to a course or program may arrange individual consultation sessions with the CCE Director, jeffrey.rathlef@sru.edu,  or ACE faculty fellow, melissa.swauger@sru.edu.

Assistance with Community Partnership Development:
Individual faculty or departments/programs seeking opportunities to identify and develop community partnerships with regional organizations and industries are encouraged to seek assistance from Associate Director for Community Impact & Partnerships, Josette Skobieranda-Dau at josette.dau@sru.edu.

Consultative services that can be provided include:

• Connecting faculty to community organizations 
• Providing in-class pre-engagement orientations for ACE student learners.
• Guiding the process of entering, engaging, and exiting communities with professionalism, respect, and humility. 
• Co-leading reflections or assisting in the design of reflection assignments. 
• Providing assessment services for community and student learning outcomes 

If you are interested in exploring academic community engagement opportunities for your students or collaborating with the CCE, please contact Jeffrey Rathlef, OCEL Director, at jeffrey.rathlef@sru.edu.

Partners for Campus-Community Engagement (PCCE)
Slippery Rock University is a member of Partners for Campus-Community Engagement (PCCE) thwhich convenes and supports the work of educational institutions individually and collectively to improve their practice around institutional equity, collaborative learning, and community-engagement to respond effectively to ever-changing communities around New York and Pennsylvania.  Our membership gives us access to a variety of resources, training, and learning opportunities. Follow PCCE news and announcements on Facebook and LinkedIn.