Dear Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I share with you the appointment of the university's first Associate Provost for Community Engagement, Dr. Tania D. Mitchell. Last year, I announced the creation of a new Center for Community Engagement at UMD to ensure that community engagement is woven into the very fabric, values, and identity of the institution. The vision for the center was developed in response to faculty, student, staff and community members who advocated for greater support and coordination of this mission-critical work. Over the past several months, we have worked to identify a leader to launch the work of the center.
In this new role, Dr. Mitchell will guide the development of a vision and mission for the center's work, and collaborate with campus partners to expand and support community engaged research, teaching, learning and service activities. She will oversee the coordination of campuswide community engagement efforts—elevating existing partnerships and creating new community-engaged programs and initiatives.
As leader of the new center, she will work to integrate service learning and civic engagement into courses and academic programs, and expand our impact through impactful research partnerships with local, state, national and global stakeholders. To support these goals, the existing Office of Community Engagement will join the center and continue to work with the campus community and surrounding neighborhoods to create mutually collaborative educational, business, government and community partnerships.
Dr. Mitchell joins UMD from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where she serves as professor and chair of the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, and the Rodney Wallace Professor for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. Her scholarship and teaching are focused on supporting student development with an aim to foster students’ leadership capacities for social change and social justice; and the pedagogy, philosophy and practice of service-learning and community engagement in higher education.
With professional experience in admissions, student activities, residential life, and academic affairs, Dr. Mitchell is both a scholar and practitioner who has taught undergraduate and graduate students at Stanford University, Mills College, California State University Monterey Bay and the University of Massachusetts. An internationally recognized scholar in service learning and community engagement, Mitchell was recognized with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award and the Early Career Research Award by the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement and is also an inducted member of the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship, a highly selective honor recognizing outstanding scholarly contributions to the field of community engagement. In addition, she has served on the National Advisory Committee for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.
Her scholarship has been published in numerous books and journals, and she is an editor of four books: "Civic Engagement and Community Service at Research Universities: Engaging Undergraduates for Social Justice, Social Change, and Responsible Citizenship," "Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement," "Educating for Citizenship and Social Justice: Practices for Community Engagement at Research Universities" and "Black Women and Social Justice Education: Legacies and Lessons."
She holds a B.A. in political science and communications from Baylor University, an M.S. in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University, and a graduate certificate in feminist studies and an Ed.D. in student development from the University of Massachusetts.
An internationally-recognized scholar committed to diversity and inclusivity, Dr. Mitchell brings decades of experience that is essential to developing collaborative relationships with communities. I am confident that her leadership will cultivate mutually-beneficial community partnerships that support our strategic vision to advance the public good through impactful teaching, research, and service activities. This mission-critical work will help prepare students to be civic leaders that serve communities across our state and nation and around the globe.
I’d like to thank the search committee led by Dr. Kimberly Griffin for their work identifying an outstanding group of qualified candidates. Dr. Mitchell will begin her new role on August 1, 2024. Please join me in welcoming her to our fearless Terp community!
Sincerely,
Jennifer King Rice
Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers