2022-2023 COMMUNITY-ENGAGED
LEARNING INDEX

College and Program Features

Every MSU college participates in community-engaged learning activities.
In this section of the Community-Engaged Learning Index, we showcase a few stories selected from the 2022-2023 Community-Engaged Learning Survey.

College of Social Science All of the Above Hip Hop Academy: Philanthropy, Community Development, Service, and Scholarship

“Si no sirves para la gente, no sirves para nada.” (“If you don't serve the people, you don't serve anything/purpose”). This is a phrase that Cristian Lambaren Sanchez has known all his life, and one he shares with his students as an academic specialist in experiential learning in the College of Social Science. He teaches SSC 199 (Community Engagement) and SSC 399 (Service Learning and Civic Engagement).

Social Change Wheel: Fundraising, Giving, and Philanthropy
UN Goals: Reduced Inequalities
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Office of the Senior Vice President of Student Life & Engagement  Empowering Diverse Student Leaders

At the heart of the Inclusive Campus Initiative (ICI), which advocates for historically marginalized students, is the ICI Student Advisory Committee. The formation of the Student Advisory Committee put a name to the group of students who had already been working as leaders and advocates with ICI since it was started in 2021.

Social Change Wheel: Student Involvement and Leadership Development
UN Goals: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
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Community Relations and Community Service & Engagement International Town and Gown Association (ITGA) — Presidential Excellence Award

Following the tragic events of February 13, the Community Relations unit at MSU quickly jumped into action, rallying local community members to provide support for MSU students. Suchitra Webster, MSU Community Liaison, and colleagues used their previous connections to the community to partner with the City of East Lansing's Parks, Recreation and Arts Department to offer mental health services for students, faculty, staff, and family members at the Hannah Community Center.

Social Change Wheel: Community and Economic Development
UN Goals: Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Residential College in the Arts and Humanities Incarcerated Arts at Ingham County Youth Center

David McCarthy, a professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH), has always been aware of the division between academia and the community. In response, McCarthy has sought to bridge that divide by making the resources available to him at the university available to the community at large.

Social Change Wheel: Community Building and Partnership
UN Goals: Quality Education
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College of Arts & Letters Building Community Through the Italian Film Festival USA at MSU

Starting in 2018, Carmen De Lorenzo has organized an annual Italian Film Festival USA at MSU. The festival screens Italian movies with English captions, allowing local community members and MSU students alike to share their love for Italian culture.

Social Change Wheel: Community Building and Partnership
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Student Life and Engagement Students for a Sustainable World

As big as MSU may seem, Spartans represent a mere fraction of the world’s population. Carla Iansiti and Laura Young have started two student leadership groups, Ecoreps and the Student Sustainability Leadership Council, with an eye toward helping MSU students make an outsize contribution to the world beyond East Lansing.

Social Change Wheel: Civic-Minded Career Readiness
UN Goals: Partnership for the Goals, Sustainable Cities and Communities
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College of Osteopathic Medicine Substance Use and Prevention in Michigan Schools

High schools and even middle schools all over the United States have seen an increase in students abusing substances such as opioids, nicotine, and more. Michigan is no exception. As someone who has a long educational background in pharmacology and connection to the school systems in Southeast Michigan, Carolina Restini, Pharm.D., Ph.D., stepped right up to help.

Social Change Wheel: Engaged Scholarship and Participatory Research
UN Goals: Good Health and Well-Being
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College of Communication Arts and Sciences Decolonizing the Study Abroad Experience: Visual Stories in Nairobi

Each summer, Journalism Professor Judith Walgren leads about 15 students on a study abroad trip to Nairobi, Kenya. While most study abroad programs set out with the central goal of helping students develop academically, the community-engaged trip to Kenya accomplishes that and more.

Social Change Wheel: Information, Digital, and Media Literacies
UN Goals: Partnership for the Goals
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College of Arts & Letters Voicing the Public Purposes of Higher Education from Williamston to Cape Town

“The first word in university is 'universe,' and I think a lot more universal connections need to take place,” says Philip Effiong, Ph.D., a professor of theatre studies and integrative humanities at Michigan State University.

Social Change Wheel: Deliberate and Reflective Dialogue and Voicing the Public Purpose of Higher Education
UN Goals: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
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