Cornell University
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses

The Office of Engagement Initiatives (OEI), Cornell's department to advance community-engaged learning, teaching, and research, provides two incentive programs for faculty. OEI prioritizes sustainability through the mission of community-engaged learning. "By combining their diverse expertise and skills, teams of faculty, staff, students and community members address global issues and help build a more sustainable, just and collaborative future." https://oei.cornell.edu/resources/community-engaged-learning/

The two incentive programs that champion this mission and support Faculty Fellows in sharing their materials beyond academic publications (via podcasts, op-ed, exhibits, websites, etc):

The Faculty Institute on Community Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT): A two-day program to help faculty develop a community engaged course, providing a $250 research stipend. CELT is designed for faculty interested in community-engaged pedagogy, this institute introduces participants to
- the main elements of community-engaged courses
- creating or reshaping a syllabus so that it integrates engagement
- foundational readings, tools and discussions
- a network of support with colleagues from across campus
More information can be found at https://engaged.cornell.edu/program/celt/

The Engaged Faculty Fellowship Program: This program offers two fellowships: Faculty Fellows in Engaged Learning and Faculty Fellows in Engaged Scholarship. The yearlong fellowships are open to all faculty and provides $2,000 in funding to accepted fellows. The Faculty Fellows in Engaged Learning specifically emphasizes incorporating community engagement into the course curriculum. Categories of projects include Energy, Environment & Sustainability; and Access, Equity & Justice. More information can be found at https://engaged.cornell.edu/program/faculty-fellowship/

Positive outcomes: In 2018-2019, Faculty Fellow Dan Lamb’s graduate students honed their skills in project planning, research, and analysis as consultants for six local public and nonprofit clients in a variety of political and social environments. Recent activities include quantification of the value of the free health services provided by the Ithaca Health Alliance and a wage and compensation study in collaboration with the Town of Dryden and Linda Barrington, director of the Institute for Compensation Studies, to provide well-researched guidance for local decisions about pay levels. Faculty Fellow Mathew Pritchard's 2018 class in Field Geophysics worked with community partners to develop a 3D geological map of glacial history. The map will help community partners understand groundwater and mineral resources across NYS, and taught students how to communicate the project with non-experts. The 2020 Virtual Showcase of Engaged Faculty Fellow projects can be seen at https://blogs.cornell.edu/engagedfacultyfellowsshowcase/.

The CELT program offers a $250 research stipend. The Engaged Faculty Fellowship offers a $2,000 stipend.