Current News
Professor Michelle Dunlap is named the 2008 recipient of the Ernest J. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement
August 21, 2008
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Michelle R. Dunlap, an associate professor of human development and chair of the Human Development Department at Connecticut College, has been named the 2008 recipient of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education´s Ernest J. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement. The award recognizes faculty members who connect their expertise and scholarship to community outreach.
"Professor Dunlap is an accomplished and recognized scholar, a sought-after teacher, and a constant and dedicated participant in service to the college and the community," Connecticut College President Leo I. Higdon Jr. said. "Her teaching, research and community involvement are perpetually intertwined and mutually reinforcing - she has effectively mastered the art of interconnection."
The Lynton Award was established in 1996 in the memory of Ernest Lynton, who championed a vision of service that embraced collective responsibility and an understanding of colleges and universities as catalysts, not only for the discovery of new knowledge, but also for its application to society.
"We reward what we call the integration of faculty roles - faculty roles defined around teaching, research and service - and Michelle integrates these roles wonderfully, in really deep and authentic ways," John Saltmarsh, director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE), said. "Her work is really extraordinary - she brings her students and her colleagues into the community and develops strong reciprocal relationships."
Dunlap, a professor at Connecticut College since 1994, specializes in social and personality development, contemporary family issues and in multicultural issues. She has also become a leading expert in the field of service learning. Her books on the subject, "Reaching Out to Children and Families: Students Model Effective Community Service" (2000) and "Community Involvement: Theoretical Approaches and Educational Initiatives" (2002), are widely used by other professors who incorporate service learning into their curriculum.
Dunlap herself serves as a model for service learning. Her community involvement is extensive - she has served on the boards of numerous community groups, teaches a monthly parenting class at her church and is well known for taking young people to community, campus and cultural events they would not have normally attended - and her relationships are mutually beneficial.
"I think it is important to help educate the young people in our community," Dunlap said. "It is really a mutual exchange - I receive as much as I give, and it is very rewarding for me."
Dunlap will be presented with the Lynton Award at the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities´ annual conference at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in October.
The New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE) is a center for inquiry, research and policy that supports administrators, faculty and staff across the region in becoming more effective practitioners and leaders as they navigate the complexities of institutional innovation and change.
Situated on the coast of southern New England, Connecticut College is a highly selective private liberal arts college with 1900 students from all across the country and throughout the world. On the college´s 750-acre arboretum campus overlooking Long Island Sound, students and faculty create a vibrant social, cultural and intellectual community enriched by diverse perspectives. The college, founded in 1911, is known for its unique combination of interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.
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For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu