Early-career scholars & practitioners are invited to apply to join the 2025-2026 Engaged Scholars Initiative (ESI) cohort. Over the course of one year, ESI participants form a closely connected network that work together to strengthen critical community-engaged scholarship and add to a rich history of enhancing civic and community engagement in higher education.

What do we mean by early career?
Early Career is defined as faculty who are pre-tenure or not beyond their sixth year and community engagement professionals with less than eight (8) years in the field.

ESI cohorts participate in a variety of structured activities and core programmatic elements:

• Bi-weekly meetings with alternating topics
• Two multiple-day, in-person retreats
• Work toward an individual or collaborative scholarly project
• Readings and discussions featuring assorted scholarly articles and The Four Pivots

Applications are due by April 15th. Space is limited to ensure an intimate, tailored experience.