Community-based learning (CBL) gives students opportunities to address real-world challenges by partnering with local community organizations. Through their experience leading a community-engaged unit in environmental studies, Merricks and Bitting recognized that little research directly examines how CBL affects students from historically underrepresented STEM backgrounds (e.g., women, students of color, and first-generation college students).

Working with Akman, an expert in systematic reviews, the team analyzed existing research on whether CBL experiences influence students’ pursuit of STEM majors or minors, their career intentions, and their sense of belonging in STEM fields. From more than 500 publications published between 1999 and 2024, the authors identified nine studies that met the criteria for inclusion.

Their analysis revealed a major gap in the literature. Few studies systematically examined the impact of CBL pedagogies in STEM. Most did not compare CBL with other teaching approaches, making it difficult to draw strong conclusions about its effectiveness. In addition, only a small number of studies analyzed outcomes across demographic groups such as race/ethnicity, first-generation status, or gender. The authors conclude that more rigorous research is needed, including studies that compare CBL with other pedagogies and systematically examine outcomes across different student populations.

The 2020-2021 cohort of Leadership Education Faculty Scholars includes:

·�������������� Lisa Buchanan—Associate Professor of Education

·�������������� Yanica Faustin—Assistant Professor of Public Health Studies

·�������������� Prachi Gala—Assistant Professor of Marketing

·�������������� Wen Guo—Assistant Professor of Arts Administration

·�������������� Prudence Layne—Associate Professor of English

·�������������� Svetlana Nepocatych—Associate Professor of Exercise Science

·�������������� Jonathan Poquette—Lecturer of Music and Director of Bands

During the application process, faculty scholars outline a course that they would like to create or modify to include a leadership component. Leadership education faculty scholars develop a poster presentation that highlights their courses that is presented during Celebrate Week in the spring. Once admitted to the faculty scholars program, faculty members receive support to develop their courses. Selections for the program were made by Elena Kennedy, interim Faculty Fellow for Leadership Education, and Melanie Bullock Harris, Director of the Center for Leadership.