Call for University partners: Supporting place-based, community engagement initiatives

Signature Academic Experiences at Ohio University is seeking University faculty and staff partners to collaborate with its office to support and develop Community-Engaged and Place-Based programs and experiences into academic and co-curricular offerings, especially those within general education courses.

This initiative is focused on connecting student learning to the communities and environments of OHIO, the Athens region and beyond, by collaborating with faculty and staff who are interested in integrating or expanding these types of engagements in the 2026–27 academic year. For the coming year, the office is seeking at least four partners to work with.

What is place-based education?  

• Focuses on developing students’ sense of place and learning through exploring their surrounding environments.
• Location can be within the local community (near or on campus) or site visits depending on the goals of the course: green spaces, college museums, performing arts centers, community gardens, non-profit outreach, local businesses, place-specific organizations, etc. 
• Approaches may include problem-based learning, outdoor and environmental education, community-based education, active learning, reflection, critical pedagogy and more.

Connect with Signature Academic Experiences

Signature Academic Experiences is here to help transform those ideas into meaningful, structured opportunities for student engagement. Working together, faculty and staff can create engaging, place-based learning experiences that strengthen connections between students, the University, the community and the region.

If you are interested in collaborating or learning more, please contact Assistant Director of Signature Academic Experiences Alexandra Rhue at academic.experiences@ohio.edu.