1. Preventing Graduate Student Heroic Suicide in Community- Based Research: A Tale of Two Committees Nancy Franz-Iowa State University

2. ISU Extension and Outreach Director, Professional Development Professor, School of Education Dr. Nancy Franz

3. Nancy’s Background 32+ years with Extension in five states 4-H agent, volunteer, department head, district liaison, state specialist, project administrator, graduate student, administrator Youth and adult education in all program areas Research in TL and E&R community engagement

4. Overview Graduate students value being engaged with communities Hard to find faculty to support them More opportunities needed for developing knowledge and skills for community-based scholarship Research stakeholder advisory committee (RSAC) is an important support

5. Community-Based Education and Research Renaissance Boyer Kellogg Commission NOSC/ESC Campus Compact Engagement Academies Carnegie Classification Journals – JHEOE, JCES, JOE, JHSE

6. Challenges for Young Scholars Academic heroism (vs. team) Appropriate graduate committee members The “academic only” graduate experience The master-apprentice model of education Hierarchical structure of higher education Community values conflicting with higher education values

7. Collaboration for Learning and Research Countering the heroic culture Enhance empowerment, development, synergy, transformation Decrease isolation Focus on common good Public scholarship focuses on collaboration as a best practice Counters the dissertation “sole scholar” model

8. Preparation of Graduate Students Emphasis on more than research productivity Socialized to be community scholars Supports needed –Networks –Prioritizing efforts More focus needed on context, not just content (disciplinary training) Focus on co-learning and co-creation

9. Graduate Community-Based Research Preparation Observe and develop community-engaged research skills Multiple dimensions of scholarship Stakeholder perspectives and ethics Community-based/appropriate methods Public scholarship logistics Leadership skills Professional development opportunities

10. Why a Research Stakeholder Advisory Committee Situate research in authentic community-based public scholarship principles Adhere to academic requirements Prevent heroic academic suicide More effectively engage with communities

11. RSAC Characteristics Created by the student 3-10 stakeholders Deep interest in student success Value research process and implications Members may need academic affiliations for credibility

12. Roles of RSAC Devil’s advocate ID and select research partners Review/pilot research tools Connect with research participants Provide feedback or insights on findings to improve data quality Insights on implications Student support to stay on track/navigate

13. Comparison of Dissertation Research Committees FeaturesAcademic Graduate CommitteeStakeholder Advisory Committee GoalTheory developmentProblem solving Operations Academic norms (bound by semesters, rules) Community norms (24/7, bound by imperative of action) PowerHierarchicalShared RoleExperts on research process and contentCo-learners with student researcher ValueMeet criteria for being a scholarAddress social, economic, and environmental issues

14. RSAC Lessons Learned Students need to expect conflicts between the two committees RSAC may take extra time Little support on campus for RSACs Student is the bridge between the two Graduate committee trumps RSAC Faculty involved need to be co-learners, not just experts

15. RSAC Lessons Learned Better research can result Some community members highly value mentoring/working with students Academic-community partnerships requires patience and persistence Student and academic schedules can result in episodic research/projects Academia is difficult for community members to navigate Many supports needed for all doing this work Academia needs to more fully integrate community members into co-leading academic efforts

16. So? What are your experiences with helping graduate students navigate the pathways of community-engaged research?

17. Thank you nfranz@iastate.edu