Timothy K. Eatman, assistant professor of higher education in Syracuse University’s School of Education and director of research for Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, has been selected to receive the International Association for Research on Service-learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) Early Career Award. Each year, IARSLCE recognizes an outstanding scholar with the Early Career Research Award for early career contributions to scholarly endeavors addressing service learning and community engagement.
The award is designed to encourage research that systematically addresses the exploration and understanding of the field, with particular emphasis on empirically-based research. Eatman was selected by a committee of board members and past winners, based upon his record of scholarly contributions and his impact on practice in the field. He will receive the award at the 10th annual IARSLCE International Conference in Indianapolis in October, where he will make a presentation based on his research.
Eatman’s research focuses on public engagement in higher education and the sociology of education. His ongoing research projects include the Tenure Team Initiative (TTI), a project he joined during a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, which focuses on improving the rewards system in universities and colleges for faculty who practice engaged scholarship in the cultural disciplines. This seeks to develop a broad understanding of the university’s public mission and its impact on changing scholarly and creative practices. In addition, Eatman conducts research related to the education of traditionally underrepresented groups, especially those who aspire to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines.
Eatman was nominated by Julie Ellison, founding director emerita of Imagining America. “His research and scholarship have achieved significant national attention and are already having a palpable impact on campus policies guiding tenure and promotion for publicly engaged faculty,” says Ellison.
Imagining America is a national consortium of more than 80 colleges and universities committed to public scholarship in the arts, humanities and design. SU is host campus of IA until 2012.
The IARSLCE is an international, nonprofit organization devoted to promoting research and discussion about service-learning and community engagement internationally and across all levels of the education system—primary, secondary, post-secondary and further education.
