Engagement
Spark collaboration with our communities
“In the liberal arts nearly every question we wrestle with centers on community – how communities are defined, how they change… Deepening our culture of public engagement is integral to bringing our knowledge to the world and learning from the knowledge that is produced outside of CLA. This reciprocal process is how the best engagement with the highest impact is conducted.”
John Coleman, dean
Engagement isn’t a buzzword, it’s a belief system. Two-way partnerships with our communities help prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; and address critical societal issues. That’s why we’ve embedded community engagement in our curriculum and launched faculty awards to promote and reward cooperative research projects. Together, CLA students and faculty are working with Minnesota communities to build a more just and vibrant future for us all.
We're Not Just Studying the World, We're Changing It
Voice to Vision: Finding the Unexpected Significance in Survivor Stories
Art is full of meaning, sometimes in ways we don’t expect. David Feinberg, director of Voice to Vision—one of the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub’s 2022-2023 residencies—calls this surprise meaning “the unexpected significance.” This concept is what drives Voice to Vision in its abstract approach as they guide survivors and witnesses to discover and share more about their stories. Read "Finding the Unexpected Significance in Survivor Stories."