Statement from the Interim Associate Provost University Outreach and Engagement is Here to Help You Connect

The beginning of 2020 has caused major disruption in our lives. As the MSU community — and the world — adapts to the changing circumstances brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, UOE remains focused on our land-grant mission exemplified through community-engaged research and creative activities, teaching, and service.

Forums and resources. In April and May, UOE convened the first MSU virtual forums about how the pandemic is affecting community-engaged research and partnerships. We have released a report of those discussions, outlining the comments of over 70 participants, supplemented with links to resources available to support this work in the current context. 
 
Report - MSU responds in community. UOE also compiled a preliminary report of MSU’s response to the pandemic. Structured as a spreadsheet, the report outlines activities described by colleges, individual faculty and staff, and public communications. 
 
We continue to adapt our processes to facilitate the impact of MSU’s work with communities. 
 
Know that we are here for you and want to support you.
 

How can UOE help during this time?

UOE has always supported faculty, staff, and students with their community-engaged activities and provided the public with access to university expertise and resources. Although the context is different now, we continue to offer the same services.

Reach out to us through this form to see how we can help you navigate your community-engaged work within this new context. We are happy to consult with you on several areas including:

  • Partnership connections
  • Best practices in community-engaged work
  • Methods for community-engaged research
  • Integrating community engagement experiences into student courses
  • Ensuring equity and inclusion in your engagement work
  • Broader impacts and research impacts
  • Grant proposal review of community engagement elements
  • Science communication and dissemination
  • Connecting research to policy
  • Strategies for publishing community-engaged work
  • Evaluation planning

Continue to visit the UOE COVID-19 pages listed above for resources and virtual workshops as we update our offerings.

Tough times come and go. It’s the way we face those tough times that makes all the difference. Michigan State University is responding with innovation, flexibility, commitment to all stakeholders, and determination. We are here, we are working, and we invite you to reach out to us.


Sincerely,
Laurie Van Egeren
Interim Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement