Writer
Curt Wohleber-
2021 MU Engagement Scholars, from left, Nicole Campione-Barr, Sarah Diem, Tim Evans, Sarah Jacquet, Kale Monk and Enid Schatz.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Six University of Missouri faculty members have been selected as the inaugural group of MU Engagement Scholars.
“The Office of Extension and Engagement chose the scholars for their potential to create dynamic engagement opportunities for Missourians,” said Susan Renoe, assistant vice chancellor for research, extension and engagement.
“Engagement could be in the form of public talks, social media and in-person or virtual activities,” Renoe said. “Events might incorporate science, art, music and other innovative ways to describe the research.”
During the yearlong program, the six scholars will gain experience communicating their research to the public and develop public engagement plans related to that research. The scholars will have assistance from the staff of The Connector, a university unit that helps researchers engage with the public through professional development and programming.
Each scholar will receive a stipend as well as seed money to support professional development and engagement activities.
2021-22 Engagement Scholars
Nicole Campione-Barr, associate professor, Department of Psychological Sciences. Campione-Barr primarily studies adolescents’ relationships with family members and how positive qualities within these relationships affect adolescent mental health and well-being.
Sarah Diem, professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. Diem researches the social, political and geographic contexts of education, focusing primarily on how the politics and implementation of educational policies affect outcomes related to racial equity and opportunity within public schools.
Tim Evans, associate professor, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. Most of his current research involves mycotoxins—toxins produced by fungi—and their effects on livestock. In the guise of his superhero alter ego, The Antidote, he has used “balloon animal medicine” to connect with K-12 students across Missouri on STEM-related topics.
Sarah Jacquet, assistant professor, Department of Geological Sciences. Jacquet is a paleontologist whose research looks at one of the most significant events in animal evolution, a time of rapid diversification of animal species more than 500 million years ago called the Cambrian explosion.
Kale Monk, assistant professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science. As a relationship scientist, Monk primarily studies how couples maintain their relationships, how these intimate unions become unstable and how relationships influence each partner’s mental health.
Enid Schatz, professor and chair, Department of Public Health. For most of her career, Schatz researched the social and structural impacts of HIV on older persons’ physical health and well-being in southern and eastern Africa. Recent work includes leading a study on the MU campus that helped track COVID-19 infections and collected data about student, faculty and staff risk, attitudes and behaviors. She plans to expand this work to examine COVID-vaccine-related attitudes and behaviors on campus and in communities throughout Missouri.
Photos available:
https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/people/20210520-ncb.jpg
Nicole Campione-Barr.
https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/people/20210520-diem.jpg
Sarah Diem.
https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/people/20210520-jacquet-1.jpg
Sarah Jacquet.
https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/people/20210520-monk.jpg
Kale Monk.
https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/people/20210520-schatz.jpg
Enid Schatz.
