Community Engagement & Civic Participation
Developing a civic identity means understanding how your work connects to and impacts others. Whether through volunteering, voting, student governance, or sharing research with the public and policymakers, there are many ways to become more engaged in your community.
Civic and Public Engagement
With coursework, teaching, research, writing, and everything else that is asked of you as a grad student, you might say you just do not have time to volunteer. However, volunteering can be an invaluable experience and incredibly rewarding. Ways to engage with the local community through service:
- Service-learning and engagement opportunities through campus partners
- Serve on a local committee or board
- Serve on a team as an advisor for the trailblazers mini grant program
- Guest speaking; presentations; help with volunteer groups
- Educate & Act online series
Learn more about ways to get involved below.
Ways to Get Involved!
Voting and Participating in Elections
One way to engage in community is through voting in local, state, and federal elections. Make and carry out your plan to vote and consider how to best care for yourself as election results are determined!
Volunteering
With coursework, teaching, research, writing, and everything else that is asked of you as a grad student, you might say you just do not have time to volunteer. However, volunteering can be an invaluable experience for several reasons.
You can try out a career path to see if it is really a good fit for you without a long-term commitment.
It's a great way to network in a casual setting and develop important connections and relationships to many different people.
Volunteering can provide unique training and skill development opportunities you do not have access to in your program such as project evaluation, program development, expertise in a software , and writing materials for a non-specialist audience.
You can try out a career path to see if it is really a good fit for you without a long-term commitment.
It's a great way to network in a casual setting and develop important connections and relationships to many different people.
Volunteering can provide unique training and skill development opportunities you do not have access to in your program such as project evaluation, program development, expertise in a software , and writing materials for a non-specialist audience.
Get Involved with Student Senate
Student Senate is the primary advocate for students on campus with 110 senators and 11 executive staff members work together to allocate about $22 million in student fees in ways that best serve students. It also represents the KU student voice within University, State, and National Governance, working to address and develop policy in students' best interests.
Graduate Student Advisory Board
The mission of GSAB is fourfold: to serve graduate and professional students at the University of Kansas by addressing their needs and concerns to administrative and government agents; to promote graduate and professional students status and achievements (e.g. research, teaching, and service) to the administration, community, and Board of Regents; to develop productive working relationships with all departmental, administrative, and governance bodies at the University of Kansas; and to provide opportunities that facilitate graduate and professional students’ academic and professional development.
Community Engaged Research Opportunities
Capitol Graduate Research Summit
The Capitol Graduate Research Summit provides an opportunity for graduate students to share their research with state policymakers and demonstrate how graduate education and research contribute to Kansas communities and economic development.
Applications open in the fall semester, the summit takes place in late March.
Applications open in the fall semester, the summit takes place in late March.
Research Matters with Kansas Public Radio
Hosted by longtime KPR engineer, Steve Kincaid, Research Matters is a new collaboration between Kansas Public Radio (KPR) and the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs that highlights the contributions of graduate research to the economic, human, social, and environmental health and growth of Kansas and the nation. Each installment of Research Matters will showcase a brief interview with a KU graduate student about their project, its impact on the state, and the motivations driving the student’s research pursuits.
Red Hot Graduate Research
Hosted by The Commons, Red Hot Graduate Research brings together scholars from all disciplines, to reveal overlaps and connections across areas of interesting and methodological approaches. The format of these sessions is inspired by Pecha Kucha, which features short, slide-based talks that introduce audiences to a topic. Each installment features researchers, speaking for six minutes each. Audience members are encouraged to connect with the speakers (and each other) during breaks. This series offers researchers at KU a venue for cross-disciplinary partnering and exploration.
Upcoming Events & Programs
