Dr. Elyse Aurbach is a public engagement and research impacts leader. She specializes in translating research into useful tools for practice, building effective training and capacity-building programs, and developing frameworks that synthesize scholarship and practitioner knowledge to help university and public engagement systems evolve. She serves as assistant provost for University Outreach and Engagement at Michigan State University.
Aurbach previously held a variety of roles supporting public engagement in higher education. As director for Public Engagement & Research Impacts in the University of Michigan's Office of Research, Aurbach led strategy and a team that supported university faculty in their public engagement efforts. She served as a Civic Science Fellow with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, where she led the Modernizing Scholarship for the Public Good initiative, offering guidance to public research universities on ways that they can support scholars and advance public impact research and other forms of public engagement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Aurbach worked with the Center for Academic Innovation as public engagement lead, overseeing the center’s role in a presidential strategic focus area on faculty public engagement. She also led a number of projects to improve science communication and public engagement, including developing and teaching communication courses in person and online, "co-bossing" Nerd Nite Ann Arbor, and co-founding and directing RELATE, a science communication and public engagement organization. Aurbach was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a finalist for the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, and an ARIS Fellow. She holds a doctorate in neuroscience.
Recent Publications
Van Egeren, L.A., Aurbach, E.L., & Bargerstock, B.A. (2025, in press). Broader Impacts in the Context of Engaged Scholarship. In Renoe, S. & Van Egeren, L.A. (Eds.). The Handbook for Broader Impacts.
Aurbach, E.L., Kennedy, H., Redd, K., Bennett, J., & Gobstein, H. (2023). Modernizing Scholarship for the Public Good: An Action Framework for Public Research Universities. Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. DOI: https://osf.io/uekpb
Sdvizhkov, H., Zanen, K. V., Aravamudan, N., & Aurbach, E.L. (2022). A Framework to Understand and Address Barriers to Community-Engaged Scholarship and Public Engagement in Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Across Higher Education. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 26(3), Article 3. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/2796
MacArthur, B. L., Lindenfeld, L. A., Aurbach, E. L., Bevan, B., & Newman, T. P. (2020). Bridging Science with Society: Defining Pathways for Engagement. Communication Center Journal, 6(1), 62–78.
Aurbach, E.L., Prater, K.E., Cloyd, E.T. & Lindenfeld, L. (2019). Foundational Skills for Science Communication: A Preliminary Framework [White Paper]. Retrieved from the University of Michigan, http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/2027.42/150489.
Recent Reports
Rios, M., Aurbach, E.L., Kohl-Arenas, E., & Bargerstock, B. “Imagining Change, Changing Cultures: Views
from the Field” (2024). Panel discussion at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, Portland, OR.
Recent Presentations
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(April 2024)
Imagining Change, Changing Cultures: Views from the Field
Rios, M., Aurbach, E.L., Kohl-Arenas, E., & Bargerstock, B. “Imagining Change, Changing Cultures: Views from the Field” (2024). Panel discussion at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, Portland, OR.
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(April 2024)
Exploring Engagement Infrastructures using the Modernizing Scholarship Action Framework
Aurbach, E.L. “Exploring Engagement Infrastructures using the Modernizing Scholarship Action Framework” (2024). Invited discussion for the Big 10 Academic Alliance Engagement Leaders, online.
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(April 2024)
Foundations of Communication for Any Audience
Aurbach, E.L. “Foundations of Communication for Any Audience” (2024), OnwaRD Symposium, Ann Arbor
MI.
