Longmire-Avital named 2018-20 Center for Engaged Learning Scholar

Buffie Longmire-Avital, associate professor of psychology and coordinator of African and African-American studies, has been named the 2018-20 Center for Engaged Learning Scholar.

During this term, she will focus on diversity and inclusion in mentored undergraduate research. She will create resources regarding the inclusion of historically underrepresented students in undergraduate research; her work on the topic will be shared on the Center’s website and through other scholarly venues.

Longmire-Avital’s topics of research as a CEL Scholar include:

• How do undergraduate research experiences for students identifying as a member of a historically underrepresented group impact the professional development of both the student and the mentoring faculty member?
• What facilitates and supports the participation of historically underrepresented minority students in undergraduate research?
• What are the often cited challenges and barriers for minority student participation in undergraduate research, particularly in the context of majors and fields of inquiry that have historically low minority representation?
• What are the expectations for faculty from historically underrepresented groups in regard to the mentorship of students who are from similar backgrounds in undergraduate research?
• Does participation in undergraduate research cultivate a research identity and feeling of belongingness in the academic world?

Longmire-Avital has served as the guest editor for a special issue of PURM on the topic of historically underrepresented groups in research. She also served as a panelist for a discussion on diversity in experiential learning at the CAA Pedagogy Summit. In March, she facilitated a panel session titled “Are We Sustaining the Pipeline?: Engaging Black Collegians in Undergraduate Research,” at the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education annual conference. She also is a member of the Implementation Task Force for Black Faculty, Students, and Staff at Elon. Her involvement in applied research and practice has also been recognized by the National Institutes of Health.

During a two-year appointment, CEL Scholars develop expertise in a specific aspect of engaged learning and create resources on that topic to be shared through CEL’s website and in other scholarly venues. The CEL Scholar position is an opportunity for an Elon faculty member to develop and deepen a professional development trajectory that includes scholarly activity on a high-impact practice or other engaged learning topic.

Longmire-Avital is the second Elon faculty member to be named CEL Scholar. She joins Ketevan Kupatadze, who was selected as the 2017-19 scholar. A call for applications for the 2019-21 CEL Scholar will be released in fall 2018.

Any questions regarding the CEL Scholar position or the Center for Engaged Learning should be directed to Jessie Moore, director of CEL, at jmoore28@elon.edu.