CUMU IMPACT FELLOWSHIP

The CUMU Impact Fellow provides leadership on behalf of the CUMU membership on initiatives related to impact, data, and metrics in institutional and/or regional impact.

The CUMU Impact Fellow’s work includes leading the Impact Huddle which explores topics including:

  • campus and system-wide approaches to tracking and assessing impact
  • program evaluation
  • data utilization to shape policy and practice
  • novel or effective communication techniques for telling the story

More about the CUMU Impact Fellowship

One CUMU Impact Fellow will be selected for 2024. During the year-long fellowship, the awardee will produce a report on the state of the field and provide leadership on behalf of CUMU membership on various initiatives related to impact, data, and metrics in community engagement and/or regional impact. Prospective fellows should bring their own expertise and experience to bear in order to propose a project that leverages their strengths.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Metrics for tracking a campus’ impact as an anchor institution
  • How regional anchor collaborations measure, report, and improve impact
  • Community engagement impact: how data is collected, maintained, analyzed, and communicated
  • The role of data and analytics in advancing the urban mission in higher education

Submissions must be from a faculty member, staff, post-doc or graduate student from a CUMU member institution. Fellows should have the ability to synthesize findings from complex datasets.

  • An award of $4,000, which consists of $2,000 at the initiation of the project and an additional $2,000 upon submission of the report which should occur no later than November 4, 2024. Funds may be used at the awardee’s discretion.
  • Gratis registration to the 2024 CUMU Annual Conference and $1000 towards conference travel.
  • Finally, the research fellow will count on planning and consultation support from CUMU and will work closely with CUMU personnel on the Huddle and ALN Action Summit planning

  1. Research and produce a state-of-the-field report on proposed topic disseminated as a public facing CUMU report (See examples: Homelessness & Housing Insecurity and Building Community Capacity via Place-Based Hyperlocal Engagement), this document is meant to provide an essential state-of-the-field overview to CUMU’s membership on a topic of high interest.
  2. Lead a CUMU Huddle on the theme of Impact
    CUMU’s Huddles are informal, monthly virtual learning communities designed to build professional relationships across the CUMU membership around issues and topics that matter most to our campuses and our communities. In collaboration with CUMU’s Director of Learning and Engagement, the fellow will plan five virtual Huddle meetings over a five month period. Ideally, these meetings will inform and further refine the final report. The fellow will also lead the in-person Huddle meeting at the CUMU Conference in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN October 20-23, 2024.
  3. Serve on the 2024 ALN Action Summit Committee
    The fellow will serve as a planning committee member and thought partner for this data and impact-focused event which takes place in June.

MICHELLE MEGGS NAMED 2024 CUMU-IMPACT FELLOW

michelle meggs headshot

Meggs serves as executive director of the Women + Girls Research Alliance at UNC Charlotte.

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