Community Impact The Department of Community Engagement educates agents of change in diverse settings
Ph.D. in Community Engagement students volunteer at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
The Point
Summer 2018
This December, the first hooding ceremony will be held for recipients of doctoral degrees in Point Park’s new Ph.D. in community engagement program.
The doctoral program is a unique social lab designed for working professionals who want to improve their effectiveness as leaders while gaining a broad understanding of public policy, program development and social entrepreneurship. It prepares leaders for outreach and partnership work in civic, business and community organizations.
The new Ph.D. recipients will be prepared to be agents of change who inspire others and foster prosperity in a range of community settings. It’s all part of the overarching mission of the University’s newly established Department of Community Engagement (DCE), according to Heather Starr Fiedler, Ph.D., DCE chair and professor of multimedia. “I think we’ve accomplished a lot, and we have a lot of exciting things on the horizon,” she says.
Community-focused
The new DCE incorporates interdisciplinary approaches to critical thinking, innovation, human-centered design and social entrepreneurship as they relate to community engagement. From academics to initiatives, community engagement is the focus of intensive efforts at Point Park. It is housed in a new Innovation/Idea lab in Thayer Hall, a flexible space for group work, meetings, brainstorming and other creative activities.
In addition to Fiedler, DCE faculty includes business professor Jamesena Talbott, Ph.D., who has expertise in organizational leadership and inclusion; Sera Matthew, Ph.D., who specializes in women’s and gender studies; and history professor Jehnie Burns, Ph.D. Research associate Elian Rosenfeld, Ph.D. has expertise in public health, and graduate assistants include Kelly Wilding, Lindsay Haslett and Meggan Lloyd. The team is pursuing a Carnegie Classification on Community Engagement in 2020.
The DCE oversees the first-year experience course, University 101, which involves more than 700 undergraduates and includes service learning and a poster project. “We want to instill a sense of community service into each of Point Park’s incoming students,” says Fiedler.
Undergraduates have the opportunity to minor in community engagement or minor in women’s and gender studies, both of which are coordinated by the DCE. Additional academic opportunities are in development on the graduate and undergraduate level, says Fielder.
The DCE oversees Wood Street Communications, which enables students to gain experience while providing communications services to non-profits. Since 2015, more than 150 local organizations have received more than $200,000 worth of services from Point Park students, says Fiedler.
Ph.D. leaders
The new Ph.D. in Community Engagement, a three-year program, began in 2015. The first cohort is completing their dissertations and will soon graduate. Since then, dozens of doctoral students have entered the program, presented at numerous conferences, and initiated many different community practicum projects.
Ph.D. candidate Veronika Panagiotou says she was attracted to the interdisciplinary program and its focus on servant leadership, social justice and community. She is the driving force behind the new Pioneer Food Pantry, which addresses food insecurity issues among students. “On the first day of the Ph.D. program, [our] cohort volunteered with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and it inspired research on food insecurity in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” she says. “While visiting the University of Nebraska at Omaha, I saw their food pantry and thought that Point Park may need one too. With the support of faculty and administration, I was able to send out a survey and determine that a food pantry was needed on campus.”
Collective impact
Ph.D. candidate Danielle Davis led the inaugural Pittsburgh Collective Community Impact Forum at Point Park in August 2017. The event attracted 120 participants and connected the region's leaders to female and minority business owners and entrepreneurs. The forum explored economic opportunities in technology, construction, agriculture, engineering and architecture, based on a model of urban growth that is inclusive and sustainable.
The owner of Davis Consulting Solutions, Davis co-hosted the event with business professor Patrick Mulvihill, D.Ed. "As a [Ph.D.] student focusing on community economic development, it was wonderful to have the support of Dr. Mulvihill, who [serves] as the chair of my dissertation committee."
The Pioneer Pantry and Collective Community Impact Forum are among many new initiatives led by DCE faculty and students. Other projects include a Courageous Conversation Series, which has featured such presenters as John Stahl-Wert, author of The Serving Leader. The DCE will host a major conference, “TEDx PointParkUniversity - Building Bridges,” on Sept. 14. Visit TEDxPointParkUniversity.com for more information.
A poverty simulation exercise, presented with Circles of Greater Pittsburgh, enabled students to better understand the challenges of those experiencing poverty. The DCE has also sponsored Lunch and Learn sessions such as “Bringing Rain to News Deserts,” presented by Ph.D. student Andrew Conte, director of Point Park’s Center for Media Innovation. Conte’s work was made possible through a grant from the DCE.
Community support
In addition to Conte, other faculty who have received Social Impact Grants include Professor Helen Fallon, who is working with non-profit The Giving Heart; biology Professor Matt Opdyke, Ph.D., who is working with the Allegheny Land Trust on Project Bee Watch; and psychology Professor Brent Robbins, Ph.D., who is working with homeless persons in Pittsburgh. The DCE also presents three annual awards to recognize extraordinary efforts in community engagement. This year, the Student Award went to Panagiotou for her efforts with the Pioneer Pantry, the Faculty Award went to psychology professor Sarah Schulz, Ph.D. for her work with the LGBTQ community, and the Community Partner Award went to Light of Life Rescue Mission.
“It’s important to support and reward both individuals and organizations for the community engagement work that they are doing, as well as to provide opportunities for the University to get involved with the community,” says Fiedler, who says the DCE is developing a system to track and assess faculty and student projects.
“Point Park faculty members are already very engaged. We just need to spend time learning more about what they are doing – and celebrating it.”
Photo by Chris Rolinson
The Point is the magazine of Point Park University