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Community Development Academy: Empowering Community Leadership February 24-25, March 3-4, and March 10-11, 2010, Memorial Hall, Independence, Kan.
ICDD Public Issues Facilitation Workshop January 11-13, 2010, Kansas State University
"Engagement occurs when collaborative partners - both on and off-campus stakeholders - work together to address a public need in a way that is both reciprocal and mutually beneficial. Through engagement, K-State endeavors to fulfill its historic land grant mission."
David E. Procter, Director of CECD
Featured Videos
Videos on the benefits to engaged work.
To view all videos, please visit CECD's YouTube channel.
Engagement News
- November 11, 2009 K-State Emphasis on Sustainability, Engagement Leads to Program that will give Young Professionals the Skills to Protect Water Resources in Kansas and Beyond.
- August 24, 2009 K-State Researchers Find that Employees Who are Engaged in Their Work Have Happier Home Life.
- August 14, 2009 Thanks to Summer Camp at K-State, Kansas High School Teachers are Heading to Classrooms this Fall with New Techniques to Bring Shakespeare to Students.
- August 11, 2009 K-State Drama Professors Create Curriculum to Help Kansas Teachers Use 'Romeo and Juliet' to Talk with Students about Violence.
- August 10, 2009 By Showing Safety Net Clinics How They Can Use Resources Most Efficiently, K-State Engineers' Research Helping Low-Income, Uninsured Kansans with Their Health Care.
- July 16, 2009 K-State's Advanced Manufaturing Institute Helps Small Business in Kansas Expand Product Line.
- July 15, 2009 K-State Professors Test Native Plants as Roofing Alternative.
- July 15, 2009 K-State Student International Teams Providing Service in Africa and Mexico During Summer 2009.
- July 14, 2009 Fourth Annual Dialog on Sustainability July 23 at K-State.
- July 10, 2009 Collaboration Between K-State and Geary County USD 475 to Foster Science Education.
- June 3, 2009 K-State's Advanced Manufacturing Institue Helps Two St. George Entrepreneurs Develop New Product That's Now on the Market.
- June 2, 2009 Strategies to Rein in Epidemics Need to be Retooled for Rural Populations, Say K-State Engineers Using Computers to Model Disease Outbreaks in Rural Areas.
- May 15, 2009 K-State Students to Travel to U.S.-Mexico Border Area May 17-22 to Learn About Cross-Border Operations.
- May 14, 2009 K-State Students from Chapman Center for Rural Studies Helping Wabaunsee County Residents Celebrate Their History.
- May 11, 2009 K-State Extending More 2+2 Agreements Beyond Kansas Borders.
- May 9, 2008 K-State Interactive Theater Workshop Performance to Give Voice to Struggles of Military Children.
- May 7, 2009 K-State Researchers and Their Partners Making it Easier for Rural Kansans of All Ages to Stay Healthy Despite Limited Access to Facilities Like Bike Trails, Gyms.
- April 23, 2009 K-State, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment and EPA Offering Free Workshops in Topeka, Wichita and Dodge City on Grants for Community Revitalization.
More Engagement News
Featured Organizations
- The Center for Hazardous Substance Research provides assistance to communities affected by hazardous substance issues.
- The KSU Research Foundation promotes the licensing and commercialization of intellectual property.
CECD Engages Kansas
A Message on Community Gardens from David Procter, Director of K-State's Center for Engagement and Community Development
Research has found that community gardens can lead to the beautification and greening of many neighborhoods and can foster a spirit of community cooperation. Specifically, community elements such as improved health and welfare, food production, green space management, economic development, education, job development, recreation and tourism are all positively associated with the operation of community gardens. Design and construction of gardens also increases community-building capacity by developing and strengthening local partnerships.
Northview Promotes Hands-on Experience with Gardening
The Northview Learning Garden gives children a hands-on experience with nature. Although schoolyard gardens are not new, they are not commonplace throughout Kansas. The Learning Garden at Northview Elementary School is more than a place to grow plants and vegetables. The 'outdoor classroom' allows teachers to lead their K-6 curriculum outside, conducting art projects and science lessons. With native plants and stones of the Flint Hills eco-region, students will gain knowledge and be grateful for a 'sense of place' in the Flint Hills.
Improving the Quality of Life: One Color at a Time
The "Our Community . . . A More Colorful Place" program seeks to develop a sense of pride in our hometowns through the planting of bright, colorful annual flowers.
"Think of any community in Kansas during the December holiday season. They are all decorated with bright colorful holiday decorations - downtown, businesses and front yards. Our quality of life is better when we decorate for the December holidays. Why not also decorate with displays of bright annual flowers through the spring, summer and fall seasons?" asks director of the program, Alan Stevens, associate professor of ornamental crops.
Prairie and Rain Gardens Attract Wildlife at Sunset Zoo
Throughout the state of Kansas, low impact development (LID) and storm-water best management practices (BMPs) have had limited testing. The Sunset Zoo Kansas Plains Area Prairie and Rain Garden allows students and faculty to gain experience in the planning and design of dynamic ecological systems in an urban setting.
"The Sunset Zoo Kansas Plains Area Prairie and Rain Gardens collect and infiltrate storm-water runoff on sloping land within the Kansas Plains portion of the Sunset Zoo, showing visitors simple ways to help reduce storm-water runoff and maintain wildlife, especially for butterflies and bees," explains Lee R. Skabelund, ASLA, assistant professor, K-State Department of Landscape Architecture / Regional & Community Planning.
Project PLANTS Encourages Healthy Habits for Kids
To promote a healthier lifestyle for children, Candice Shoemaker, associate professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources at Kansas State University, has been creating gardens and high tunnels for fourth and fifth graders in the Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District. Students learn to grow their own fruits, vegetables and flowers. This study is called Project PLANTS (Promoting Lifelong Activity and Nutrition Through Schools).
Hoping to promote a healthier lifestyle, Shoemaker and colleagues say that when children grow their own fruits and vegetables, they are more attracted to eating them.
More CECD News
Technology, the Economy, and the Workplace
- Patents. K-State patents, corporate patent sites, country patent databases, federal patent resources, fee-based patent resources, and more.
- Technology Development. Development resources at K-State including the Commercialization Leadership Council, K-State Research Foundation, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, and more.
- Technology Transfer. Technology transfer office at K-State, other universities, the state of Kansas, and more.
- Business Development. Resources available to Kansas, including KTEC, Wichita State Center for Entrepreneurship, Kauffman eVenturing and more.