Many faculty, researchers and instructors who practice publicly engaged research and scholarship, teaching and learning don’t even realize they are public scholars. When asked, individuals often summarize their work as, “it’s just what I do,” or “I do it because I saw a need.” At a large research university such as UC Davis, it is not surprising that many of us identify with a discipline or field of study, an academic department or program. It is, therefore, a pleasant surprise when we meet others whose disciplines and fields are so different from our own and yet we share common values to serve communities outside the university. In fact, I remember one professor standing up in the middle of a gathering of other publicly engaged scholars declaring, “I have been at this university for over 25 years and this is the first time I have found community!”

Moving through the undercurrent of the university like magma under tectonic plates, this community of scholars is part of our public mission at UC Davis and continues to grow today. At PSE, we want to bring greater visibility to our amazing public scholars. That is why we are proud to announce the Public Scholars Community. The aim of this directory is to recognize these individuals as a diverse and growing network, facilitate collaborations, and identify ways to support one another. Never before has there been a formal way to gather and connect members of this important community. We are confident many of you will find inspiration, and perhaps even future collaborators in that network. 

We have also set up a Faculty Resources page that provides resources that we recommend for anyone pursuing public scholarship. We hope many of you will find the Public Scholars Community and Faculty Resources pages useful. Creating a greater sense of belonging and providing support to grow our community of public scholars at UC Davis is important to us. If you are not currently listed and you consider yourself a public scholar, please see the form on the Community page to be a part of this network. 

In community,

Michael Rios
Vice Provost, Public Scholarship and Engagement