Illinois State University’s Dr. S. Gavin Weiser has been selected for the national Engaged Scholars Initiative through Campus Compact. The highly competitive program aims to develop a diverse group of early-career faculty and staff who can lead equity-focused change at their institutions and in communities.
Weiser is one of only 22 faculty and staff from across the nation chosen to take part in the 2021-2022 Engaged Scholars cohort. The cohort will participate in a year-long learning and leadership program designed to strengthen individual and collective scholarship, research, and impact.
Scholars were selected from a highly competitive pool of candidates from Campus Compact-member institutions. They were all nominated by their presidents, chancellors, or chief academic officers on the basis of outstanding work in civic and community engagement. Together they represent 19 institutions from 13 states.
“Campus Compact is thrilled to welcome the second cohort of the Engaged Scholars Initiative,” said Marisol Morales, vice president for network leadership at Campus Compact. “The caliber and diversity of all the applicants were extraordinary. The goal of this program is to develop and support equity-minded, community-engaged scholars and practitioners who can shape the future of this field.”
An assistant professor in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Administration and Foundations, Weiser is co-coordinator of the College Student Personnel Administration master’s program at Illinois State. Ze holds affiliate faculty status in both Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and with Latin American and Latino/a Studies. Weiser earned a Ph.D. in foundations of education and inquiry from the University of South Carolina’s College of Education. Ze also completed a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina, where ze worked for several years as a university administrator in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. The group builds democracy through civic education and community development. The Engaged Scholars Initiative is led by Campus Compact and is offered in partnership with the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility at Swarthmore College.
