Stories from the Field

A conversation series designed to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss the challenges and opportunities of applied research and community engagement.

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October 19, 2023

Growing Roots of Understanding: How students learn to listen and lead through community-engaged storytelling

Watch the recording from our conversation with Katie Chriest, Penn State Sustainability Outreach and Communications for Commonwealth Campuses, about a student-led, community-centered initiative to raise awareness around issues of farmer mental health and stress called "Growing Roots of Understanding."

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April 14, 2023

Vaccine hesitancy among Latinx: Developing trust for effective community engagement

View the recording from our conversation with Maria Luisa Tejada, Penn State Extension Educator, about her experiences working to develop trust for effective community engagement around vaccine hesitancy with Latinx communities in rural and urban places.

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March 15, 2023

The Australian Rabbit Problem and a People Solution

Check out our conversation with Michael Reid, a practitioner and director with the Agriculture Victoria Australian government agency, about his experiences seeing how government and community can come together and engage to manage invasive species and other biosecurity threats.

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February 22, 2023

Lessons for Applied Research from a Pracademic

Watch the recording from our session with Bev Cigler about her approach to conducting research as a “pracademic,” or practitioner-academic. Bev will draw on decades of experience to share stories from her work with intermunicipal cooperation, public finance, emergency management, and more.

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