Research in Service of Communities Fellowship

Research in Service of Communities Fellowships provide funding support for faculty-student research collaborations that merge high quality scholarship and service to communities, exemplifying the vocation of higher education.

Funded faculty-student research teams share the goal of conducting research that empowers the researchers and affected community members to be effective agents of social change. Research projects carried out during this summer fellowship program contribute to innovative research on issues related to justice and equality, and establish models of academic inquiry that enhance public understanding of salient issues affecting communities. The public impact of funded fellowships is demonstrated by the project outcomes, which include raising public awareness, informing decision makers, and promoting community well-being.

In particular, the CEJ summer fellowship program supports the following objectives:

Leadership development and civic engagement of undergraduate and graduate students—students who serve as CEJ Research Fellows will not only develop and utilize advanced research skills that will benefit their educational goals, but they will also be exposed to new career or vocational paths by working with community partners on important social issues.
Development of sustainable university-community research collaborations—by providing funding for research projects that serve communities, faculty will be able to pursue external funding for future related projects, in this way community partners will benefit from the research expertise of Cal Lutheran faculty and students.
Promotion of positive social change—by engaging community members in research processes and informing decision-makers through dissemination of research findings to diverse audiences.

Eligibility

Faculty Principal Investigator (PI): Cal Lutheran full-time, ranked faculty members who have been affiliated with the CEJ for at least one semester prior to the application deadline; members of the Fellowship Selection Committee are ineligible and may request complete recusal if they intend to submit an application.

Student Research Fellow (RF): Cal Lutheran undergraduate and graduate students who meet eligibility requirements for CLU student employment, have been invited to apply by a PI applicant, and have completed the CEJ Summer Research Fellowship application by the listed deadline.

For more information about these fellowships, contact the CEJ Director.