Samory Pruitt, vice president for Community Affairs at the University of Alabama since 2004, is a local, national and international leader in ongoing engagement initiatives. He previously served as president of the Engaged Scholarship Consortium and as a board member since 2008. His many memberships include board member of APLU, chair of the annual UA Martin Luther King, Jr. Realizing the Dream Initiative and board member and past president of the UA United Way Campaign. He is a founding member of the Academy of Engagement Scholarship. Pruitt founded and is publisher of the print and online Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, a leading engaged scholarship journal that is financially supported by ESC. Pruitt is a frequent regional and national speaker on engaged scholarship issues.