Expert promotes civic scholarship

An internationally known expert on “civic scholarship” will urge researchers to collaborate with their communities when he visits the university Monday, Oct. 15.

University of Michigan professor Barry Checkoway focuses on expanding the definition of research at large universities to include “civic scholarship,” or community-based research developed in collaboration with local social service agencies. He argues that the current definition of research at UW–Madison and around the country is too narrow.

Checkoway’s free campus lecture, “Renewing the Civic Mission of the American Research University,” is scheduled at 4 p.m., On Wisconsin Room, Red Gym, 716 Langdon St.

Checkoway is the founding director of the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, the University of Michigan’s counterpart to UW–Madison’s Morgridge Center for Public Service. A widely published researcher, Checkoway teaches classes in social work and urban planning. He also directs Michigan Neighborhood AmeriCorps, a program bringing together U of M graduate students and community-based organizations in Detroit neighborhoods.

During his two-day Madison visit, Checkoway will teach several classes, lead discussions at two luncheons and be hosted at a United Way breakfast for 50 local non-profit agencies. His visit is sponsored by the United Way of Dane County, the Morgridge Center for Public Service and local philanthropists Bob and Irv Goodman, among others.

For more information, contact Mary Rouse, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of the Morgridge Center, (608) 263-2432.