We are pleased to announce that Nicole Springer is the new Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, published and supported by the Ginsberg Center.
Nicole brings with her decades of experience as a community engaged professional, deep knowledge of scholarship, and a commitment to the ongoing work we have ahead of us as a field to live up to our promise of advancing equitable campus-community partnerships. She will continue as Campus Compact's Director for Strategic Initiatives as she takes on this new role.
1) What most excites you about joining the Michigan Journal for Community Service Learning as the new Editor-in-chief?
I am most excited about two things. The first is getting to work with the amazing staff who have been doing a wonderful job making sure the journal is top notch. The other thing I am excited about is being even more involved in nurturing this dynamic field of community engaged scholarship.
2) What is your professional background?
Essentially all my work in higher education has been in community/civic engagement. My first taste of community engagement was over 20 years ago when I served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. After that I started at what was then the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement at Michigan State University as a graduate student while working on my Masters in Bioethics. I enjoyed working at the Center and started to dig deep into faculty development and the scholarship of the field. Upon completion of my degree, I continued as a full-time employee and eventually became the associate director. Fast forward a few more years
and I transitioned from MSU to Campus Compact as first the director of Campus Compact for Michigan and, in 2020, the Director of Institutional Capacity Building.
3) What are your favorite aspects of Community Engaged Scholarship?
I love that there are so many different ways that people can contribute to the field and that the field is constantly evolving.
4) What are some social justice issues you are most passionate about?
I believe that the pressing social justice issues of our time (racial justice, environmental justice, gender justice, etc.) are so intertwined. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a quote from Alok Vaid-Menon, transactivist, who says this: “The thing is you choose what you care about. It’s never been about comprehension it’s always been about compassion… This is a failure of empathy not education.” How do we move
beyond the desire to “teach” people a better way? What role does community engaged scholarship play in that?
5) What do you do for fun?
Right now, I’m finishing my dissertation for fun. Once this part of my journey is done next semester, however, I am looking forward to being able to read for pleasure and finish up some sewing projects that have been on hold for far too long.
Please join us in welcoming Nicole to the MJCSL Team!