MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon has been inducted into the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship.
The honor recognizes exceptional leaders who unite academics and communities to benefit society. Simon was nominated and selected by peers in recognition of her contributions in developing and supporting university-community collaborations and her longtime commitment to the theory and practice of engaged scholarship.
“Lou Anna Simon provides dynamic leadership for connecting university knowledge with community knowledge and sharing those intellectual resources to produce outcomes for some of the world’s toughest societal challenges,” said Hiram E. Fitzgerald, MSU associate provost for University Outreach and Engagement, and 2014 Academy inductee.
ACES members represent the pinnacle of achievement in the field of engagement. Their mission is to bring attention to the important role that community engagement plays in strengthening research for the betterment of society. Members draw on that expertise through high priority activities and projects that further community engagement theory, policy and practice.
As Michigan State University’s 20th president, Simon’s key initiatives have centered on economic development and international engagement. She has expanded MSU’s reach locally and internationally by focusing the university’s strengths on partnerships that enhance and protect quality of life. She outlined these commitments in her monograph, “Embracing the World Grant Ideal: Affirming the Morrill Act for a Twenty-first-century Global Society.”
“Her passion and support for engaged scholarship is imbued in our institution’s research efforts,” said Laurie Van Egeren, MSU assistant provost for University-Community Partnerships. “We have a supportive atmosphere for cultivating and fostering inclusive partnerships that have depth, scope and sustainability.”
SOURCE: MSU Today
