Less than six months after its founding, the Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement has published a draft plan to expand the visibility and impact of UC Davis research and teaching.

The plan, “Public Scholarship for the Public Good: An Implementation Framework for UC Davis,” with goals and next steps for the office, is available online and open for comment until April 22.

Michael Rios, professor of landscape architecture and environmental design in the Department of Human Ecology, and the office’s founding director, said the 30-page document reflects a survey that received hundreds of responses from the university community at large, dozens of faculty interviews, and meetings and focus groups on campus and off.

“The document is really an expression of those voices,” he said. “We want to make sure the document reflects what we heard from UC Davis’ diverse constituencies. After we absorb feedback we’re going to finalize the document and begin implementation.”

The implementation framework, which has been in the works since the 2017-18 academic year, says the university should reward and recognize public scholarship, develop and improve community-based learning experiences, and increase mutually beneficial community engagement and public impact. The proposed next steps include creating faculty fellowship programs, holding an annual forum to solicit ideas from community members, organizing training workshops, expanding programs to serve local communities and more.

Additionally, the Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement is looking for stories of UC Davis faculty, students and staff, and community members, who are doing impactful scholarship and engagement on behalf of the university that can be featured on the office’s website and as part of a program to recognize and reward excellence in public scholarship and community engagement. Nominations (including self-nominations) for “Public Scholarship and Engagement Champions” are being accepted through Friday, April 5; the form is available here.

The Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement also plans to have a physical presence in Sacramento, and is collaborating on a launch space scheduled to open this summer that will also be home to staff from Aggie Square and IBM.

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