Two UNI faculty members chosen for prestigious Engaged Scholars program
Two UNI faculty members chosen for prestigious Engaged Scholars program
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Campus Compact has announced 14 faculty and staff selected as the 2023-2024 cohort of Engaged Scholars as part of its Engaged Scholars Initiative, a year-long collaborative learning and leadership program. Each cohort consists of a diverse group of early-career faculty and staff who are equipped to lead equity-focused change at their institution and in communities.
Scholars were nominated by institutional leaders and selected based on their commitment to centering equity in their civic and community engagement work. These highly qualified scholars come from Campus Compact member institutions across the country, representing 13 institutions from 11 states.
The group features two faculty members from the University of Northern Iowa:
Kamryn Warren, PhD, is an assistant professor of sociology in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. In her role as professor, she teaches a variety of sociology courses on human rights, refugees and humanitarianism, and qualitative research methods. She is passionate about community engaged research and works with the Iowa Movement for Migrant Justice, conducting research on immigration narratives and social change.
As a junior faculty member at UNI, Warren is dedicated to maintaining an active community-based research agenda and is always adopting and adapting the latest in innovative pedagogical approaches. She serves her campus and community in creative and innovative ways that support building relationships between institutions of higher education and community in ways that serve the public good.
Sunah Chung, PhD, is an assistant professor of literacy education in the College of Education. Her work examines children’s nonfiction literature and literacy practices in diverse learning spaces. She examines potential biases in nonfiction picturebooks and adult readers’ responses as gatekeepers to picturebooks about indigenous boarding school experiences. Her study about biographies of women also emphasizes the roles of biographies in showing female models to children.
She is currently directing UNI America Reads Book Club and serves on the International Literacy Association’s children’s book award committee. Chung teaches courses in teacher preparation programs to enhance pre-service and in-service teachers’ awareness of inclusion through assessment and evaluation of literacy, and early literacy teaching methods courses.
Over the course of the academic year, Engaged Scholars will participate in professional development, virtual learning opportunities, retreats and individual support through mentoring and coaching. The aim of the program is to strengthen individual and collective scholarship, research and impact.
