As part of promoting community-engaged learning on Michigan State University’s campus, members of the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) team are often invited by faculty to host workshops for their classes. In November 2025, Assistant Director Tina Houghton met with participants in the Visiting International Professional Program (VIPP) to share how community-engaged learning plays a key role in American academic culture. 

“Introducing visiting scholars to community-engaged learning shows how strongly service shapes American academic culture,” said Houghton about this workshop. “Seeing them create service with the community—and then apply it through a hands-on project—was a powerful reminder of how learning and service strengthen one another.” 

VIPP, housed under International Studies and Programs, provides cutting-edge professional training and exchange programs for international organizations, professionals, and emerging leaders in a variety of fields to enhance the institution and forge long lasting relationships. This program connects visiting scholars and professionals with MSU and the surrounding community while creating international experiences for MSU students and faculty. One course in this program is VIP 451E: American Academic Culture, taught by assistant professor Lorelei Blackburn, Ph.D., who provides opportunities for international professionals to learn about American academic expectations through observational field research and conversations with guest speakers. 

“For the visiting international scholars in my course, this workshop provided a meaningful introduction to the central role community-engaged learning plays in U.S. academia,” Blackburn shared. “It highlighted how community partnerships support student development, shape institutional values, and strengthen teaching, learning, and the social mission of higher education.” 

For this workshop, Houghton presented the work of CCEL, especially in promoting mutually beneficial partnerships between students and the community partners they support as volunteers. This was followed by a service project to support Kids’ Food Basket, which collects paper bags decorated with pictures and words of encouragement to create sack suppers for children facing food insecurity in West Michigan. “Tina’s invitation to take part in an actual project made these ideas tangible and deeply meaningful,” Blackburn said. 

“I learned that volunteer activity needs [to be] co-created, rather than initiated from one side,” said participant Yi Yuan about the workshop. “Engaged learning means applying what you have learned and bringing your volunteer experience back into your studies. Volunteering is not only about giving, it is also mutually beneficial.” 

CCEL is proud to be a part of the culture of service and community engagement at MSU, which was ranked #1 among public university’s and #6 among all U.S. institutions by the U.S. News & World Report in 2025. “The systematic support for student volunteering – from academic credit to staff coordination – shows an institutional commitment to developing socially responsible citizens,” said participant Lenan Jin. “This approach challenges my previous understanding of university education as primarily focused on knowledge transmission.”