Dr. Laura Gonzalez Selected as Engaged Faculty Scholar

On July 1, North Carolina Campus Compact announced the selection of the 2019-20 Engaged Faculty Scholars (EFS): Dr. Laura Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Education in the Higher Education program of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and Dr.  Scott Hicks, Director of Teaching & Learning Center and Professor of English, Theatre, and Foreign Languages, of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP)

Gonzalez and Hicks will each undertake a project designed to deepen the scholarship of campus-community engagement at their respective schools. They will also serve as consultants to other North Carolina colleges or and universities seeking to enhance community-engaged teaching.

Gonzalez’s research focuses on the examination of college access pathways for Latinx youth with immigrant parents.  Most recently, Gonzalez led a participatory study, in conjunction with the Latino Community Coalition of Guilford Board, to gather narratives from youth who are either undocumented or hold a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protection status.

For her EFS project, Gonzalez will create a guidebook specifically for K-12 school staff who work with students with various immigration statuses. This guidebook will include personal narratives from people in the school system to help raise awareness of these experiences while nurturing empathy among teachers and administrators. A practical approach focused on how to work effectively with students who might be navigating similar barriers to educational pathways such as lack of in-state tuition for DACA recipients will also be included.

Hicks incorporates service-learning in African-American literature, environmental literature, and first- year composition classes by matching them with local elementary and middle schools.  He also serves as the co-editor of Narratives of Educating for Sustainability in Unsustainable Environments (Michigan State University Press, 2017) which engages issues of sustainability and teaching in higher education.

Hicks will partner with the Teaching & Learning Center to enhance faculty development in service-learning and sustainability for his EFS project. He is planning to place special emphasis on advancing sustainability learning outcomes in classes enrolling highly diverse students, including those from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds.

Engaged Faculty Scholars receive a stipend of $1,500 and additional funds for professional development.