Oklahoma State University joins Engagement Scholarship Consortium
Thursday, October 4, 2012
From the Engagement Scholarship Consortium
Oklahoma State University (OSU) has joined the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC), an international organization consisting of state/public and private higher education institutions with a broad scholarly agenda to advance university-community efforts.
“Our commitment to our land-grant heritage is strong, and it drives our pledge to promote life-changing research in a truly collaborative atmosphere,” said Oklahoma State University president Burns Hargis. “We share those innovations in our local communities as well as globally, and place tremendous value on OSU’s role as a leader in promoting university-community partnerships that contribute to solving society’s human problems.”
Following passage of the Morrill Act of 1862, Oklahoma State University was established in 1890 as a land-grant institution by the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature. Originally known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, today the Oklahoma State University System contains the flagship institution in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as well as the OSU Institute of Technology-Okmulgee, OSU-Oklahoma City, OSU-Tulsa, and the Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa. There are more than 36,000 students in the OSU System, and the enrollment number for the 2012 freshman class is the largest on record with 4,298 students.
Oklahoma State University offers nearly 200 undergraduate degree majors among six colleges, and has earned the prestigious Carnegie Foundation classification for high research activity.
David M. Henneberry, associate vice president in the division of international studies and outreach will serve as the ESC institutional representative.
“At Oklahoma State University we integrate research and outreach activities, and encourage interaction, connections, and collaboration among our faculty, staff, and students. We continually seek ways to strengthen our role as a leader in engaged scholarship, and look forward to working with our colleagues at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium,” said OSU provost Robert Sternberg.
The ESC is composed of universities that work collaboratively to promote strong university-community partnerships that are anchored in the rigor of scholarship and designed to help build community capacity. The Consortium, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit educational organization, actively seeks membership to include state/public and private higher education institutions from across the U.S., Canada, and the world.
“On behalf of the board of directors, we welcome Oklahoma State University to the Engagement Scholarship Consortium,” said Hiram E. Fitzgerald, ESC president and associate provost for 2
university outreach and engagement at Michigan State University. “”OSU’s vision of faculty and student engagement adds to our collective efforts to promote and advance successful engagement scholarship initiatives in higher education.”
ESC’s next annual meeting will be held at the University of Alabama on September 30-October 3, 2012.