Outreach Scholarship / W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award Presentations

Room: Big Ten AB
1:15 - 2:45 p.m.

Community outreach initiatives at Michigan State University, Montana State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville have been selected as regional winners of the 2011 Outreach Scholarship/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award and are finalists for the C. Peter Magrath University/Community Engagement Award. Each finalist will present their initiative.

The following are the four finalists:

North Central Region
Michigan State University

Working Together to Improve the Lives of People Affected by Epilepsy in Zambia

Gretchen L. Birbeck

This MSU-Zambian collaboration aimed at improving healthcare services began in 1994. The Chikankata Epilepsy Care Team (ECT) has grown into an organization that provides care for about 2,000 people in rural Africa. They developed an educational program for healthcare workers and trained over 200 before the program was adopted and disseminated throughout Africa by the World Federation of Neurology. The research consortium has published more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and its faculty provide consultation to the World Health Organization and policy makers. Ongoing ECT efforts have acquired more than $4 million for health research and expanding human capacity for epilepsy care and stigma reduction in Africa.

Presenters:
  • Gretchen L. Birbeck
    • Director and Associate Professor, International Neurologic and Psychiatric Epidemiology Program
    • Director, Chikankata Epilepsy Care Team
    • Michigan State University
  • Melissa Elafros
    • M.D./Ph.D. Candidiate, Department of Epidemiology, College of Human Medicine
    • Michigan State University

West Region
Montana State University

From Bozeman to Khwisero: Engineers Without Borders

Douglas Steele

Montana State University's Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) engages MSU students and faculty, Montana citizens, and residents of Khwisero to bring potable water and sanitary facilities to 58 Kenyan schools and surrounding communities. Created with a Kenyan architect, the ongoing, seven-year project hinges on a mutual, long-term commitment and continuous cultural exchange. Kenyans co-manage and integrate local resources with EWB projects to improve their health and economy and host visiting EWB members in their homes. MSU students thrive on hands-on outreach. MSU students and faculty integrate interdisciplinary curricula, service learning, and global-action initiatives around EWB activities.

Presenters:
  • Leah Schmalzbauer
    • Associate Professor, Sociology
    • Montana State University
  • Otto R. Stein
    • Professor, Civil Engineering
    • Montana State University
  • Katie Ritter
    • Student, Film and Photography
    • Montana State University
  • Joe Thiel
    • Student, Chemical Engineering
    • Montana State University

Northeast Region
Pennsylvania State University

The Pittsburgh Studio: Regenerative Design in Stressed Communities

Ken Tamminga

The Pittsburgh Studio is a public scholarship project in design with inner-city communities. It is led by Professor Ken Tamminga, in association with the Penn State Center. Each fall semester since 2008, a dozen landscape architecture seniors have collaborated with neighborhood participants in assessing needs and developing opportunities to catalyze reinvestment and pride-of-place. Co-learning and reciprocal creativity reveal local regenerative possibilities that concurrently reintegrate the community with broader urban processes. Professional discipline is injected through studio-based research and reflection on participatory action design. Community partners and the Penn State Center continue to develop and promote select strategies after each semester.

Presenters:
  • Deno De Ciantis
    • Director
    • The Penn State Center: Engaging Pittsburgh
  • Ken Tamminga
    • Professor, Landscape Architecture
    • Pennsylvania State University

South Region
University of Tennessee Knoxville

Ready for the World

Elizabeth Burman

Ready for the World (RFW) is part of a long-range plan at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) to transform the campus and prepare students for the 21st century. A model RFW initiative is UTK's engagement with a local community of Burundian refugees. UTK joined the city's overloaded school district, housing, health, and social service agencies to create new infrastructure for community-based programming and research. All work proceeded using a set of priorities established by the Burundians. The Burundians now operate a nonprofit organization, SODELA, taking a leadership role. Over 50 academic publications and presentations have resulted from the partnership.

Presenters:
  • Denise Bates
    • Assistant Professor, Public Health
    • University of Tennessee Knoxville
  • Elizabeth Burman
    • Campus Coordinator for Outreach and Engagement
    • University of Tennessee Knoxville
  • Charlotte N. Rufyiri
    • President
    • Sodela