CTE is a Catalyst
August 02, 2019
By Bryanne Peterson, ECMC Foundation Fellow
Starting the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program (PLSP) at ACTE – Sponsored by the ECMC Foundation has been a bit daunting. My cohort and I hit the ground running, with our first meeting less than a month after being selected. There have been a lot of decisions to make about what I want to gain from the program, how I want to get there, and who will help guide me through this process. I was particularly plagued with the latter, unsure of who I should ask for a multitude of reasons. My current position is transdisciplinary in nature and my research thematic lies more in how CTE connects to broader impacts at large; I had trouble trying to decide on how to find someone that was focused on these broader connections that could also scaffold some of the areas where I feel I need more support. Ultimately, I found my answer when I stopped looking so hard.
While at the Broader Impacts Summit in April, I heard Dr. Susan Renoe speak. She was introducing her latest project, the NSF-funded Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) and I was enthralled. Susan’s work is amazing, but her down-to-earth demeanor and ability to communicate complex ideas so simply is what drew me to her. While at a social for the conference, I took my chance and explained PLSP, my project, and how I thought she could help me as my mentor. My project involves creating and sharing a faculty workshop that will enhance broader impact efforts across Virginia Tech by helping them understand how CTE is a catalyst for broader impacts in all fields. I was thrilled when she agreed and excited that she saw the value in my PLSP project.
Susan is Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, Extension & Engagement at the University of Missouri. During our first meeting, I learned that Susan is working to match MU’s research and resources to solve challenges Missouri residents face, she is a former NCAA women’s basketball athlete with a killer sense of humor, and mother that tries to balance work/family responsibilities, too. I am so excited to learn from her over the next year, and perhaps even more excited to share our world of CTE with the broader impacts community.
Resources
For those that want to learn more about broader impacts and the future of research in society, I recommend viewing Susan’s Keynote from the 2019 Broader Impacts Summit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3-z0mYO_UY.
The big work ARIS is starting can be explored here: www.researchinsociety.org
Learn more about Bryanne’s experience in the Fellows program here
Susan Renoe
Assistant Vice Chancellor
University of Missouri
About the ECMC Foundation Fellow
Bryan Peterson is a Research Assistant Professor in the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is an ECMC Foundation Fellow of the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program (PLSP) at ACTE – Sponsored by the ECMC Foundation. The program is part of ECMC Foundation’s CTE Leadership Collaborative Initiative.