Danielle Lake
Director of Design Thinking and Associate Professor of Human Service Studies
Department: Center for Design Thinking
Email: dlake@elon.edu
Brief Biography
Danielle Lake joined the Elon community in 2019. With a Ph.D. in Philosophy, her teaching and scholarship interests bridge Design Thinking and wicked problems research with feminist pragmatism and the scholarship of teaching and learning. As the former coordinator of an Accelerated Leadership Program, research lead for ten engaged department initiatives across three institutions, she also has experience creating and assessing collaborative and innovative engagement projects that span curricular programs and bridge the university-community divide.
Links
News & Notes
Education
Ph.D. in Philosophy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2014.
M.A. in Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2006.
B.S. in Liberal Studies, Grand Valley State University, 2004.
Employment History
Director of Design Thinking and Associate Professor
Elon University, Elon, North Carolina (Summer 2019—Present).
Coordinator, Accelerated Leadership Program
Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Spring 2018 – Spring 2019).
Faculty Associate, Division of Inclusion and Equity
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan (Fall 2016 – Spring 2017).
Assistant Professor, Liberal Studies Department
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan (Fall 2014 – Spring 2019).
Courses Taught
Selected Courses
“Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs:” As interdisciplinary teams, students use the Design Thinking process to facilitate the chaos of innovation through collaborating with community stakeholders to meet real world needs.
“Wicked Problems of Sustainability:” Engages students in participatory research on the inextricably linked dimensions of sustainability. Students work with community partners to address specific interdisciplinary problems of sustainability.
“Diversity in the United States:” Students explore how the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, and physical abilities affect the lives of various groups in the United States. Harnesses dialogic best practices to engage the community in sharing their stories.
“Dialogue, Integration, and Action:” Students conduct an interdisciplinary examination of dialogue in a diverse world. This course engages the theory and practice of dialogue through personal, professional, and civic dialogues co-designed, facilitated, and analyzed by students and the community.
“Reflect, Connect, Engage:” Students investigate the nature and importance of liberal education, including the education of the adult free citizen.
Additional courses include “Introduction to Philosophy,” “Environmental Ethics,” “Medical Ethics,” “Life Journeys,” “Senior Seminar,” & “Logic.”
Current Projects
Lake is coeditor of the book series, Higher Education and Civic Democratic Engagement: Exploring Impact, with Peter Lang Publishing.
She is currently seeking to explore the long-term impact of design thinking practices and pedagogies of resilience.
Publications
Series Editor
Kanpol, B. & Lake, D.(2019—present). Higher Education and Civic Democratic Engagement: Exploring Impact. Peter Lang Publishing.
Selected Peer Reviewed Articles
Lake, D., Mileva, G, & RaBourn, K. (2019). Catalyzing cultural change through engaged department cohorts: Overcoming the one-and-done model. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 12(1).
Lake, D, Lehman, M., & Chamberlain, L. (2019). Engaging through design thinking: Catalyzing integration, iteration, innovation, and implementation. eJournal of Public Affairs, 8(1).
Lake, D. & Wendland, J. (2018). Practical, epistemological, and ethical challenges of participatory action research: A cross-disciplinary review of the literature. Journal of Higher Education, Outreach, and Engagement, 3(1), 1-32.
Lake, D & Thompson, P. (2018). Philosopher-as-liaison? Lessons from Sustainable Knowledge and American Philosophy. Dewey Studies, 2 (1), 10-41. http://www.johndeweysociety.org/dewey-studies/files/2018/09/03_DS_2.1.pdf
Lake, D., Ricco, M., & Whipps, J. (2018). Design thinking accelerated leadership: Transforming self, transforming community. The Journal of General Education, 65(34), 159-177.
Lake, D. (2017). Engaging across intractable differences: Why, when, and how should educators work with? Educational Theory, 67(6), 693-711. doi:10.1111/edth.12281
Lake, D., Mileva, G., Carpenter, H., Carr, D., Lancaster, P., & Yarbrough, T. (2017). Shifting engagement efforts through disciplinary departments: A mistake or a starting point? A cross-institutional, multi-department analysis. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 21(3), 135-164.
Fauval, A. M., Lake, D., & Sisson, L. (2017). Working with: Implementing a feminis pragmatist approach to support local food recovery. Public Philosophy Journal, 1(1),1-18. Retrieved from: http://publications.publicphilosophyjournal.org/record/?issue=6-18-22&kid=6-15-173289
Whipps, J. & Lake, D. (2016). Feminist pragmatism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/femapproach-pragmatism/
Mongoven, A., Lake, D., Platt, J., & Kardia, S. (2016). Negotiating deliberative tensions in theory and practice: A case study in hybrid design. Journal of Public Deliberation,12(1), 1-34.
Lake, D. (2015). Dewey, Addams, and beyond: A context-sensitive, dialogue-driven, action-based pedagogy for preparing students to confront local wicked problems. Contemporary Pragmatism, 12(2), 251-274.
Lake, D., Sisson, L., & Jaskiewicz, L. (2015). Local food innovation in a world of wicked problems: The pitfalls and the potential. The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, 5(3), 13-26.
Selected Book Chapters
McFarland, A, Lake, D, & Vogelzang, J. (2019). Creating resilient interventions to food waste: aligning and leveraging systems and design thinking. Food waste management: Solving the wicked problem. Palgrave Macmillan.
Lake, D. (2019). Pragmatic engagement in the city: Philosophy as a means for catalyzing collective, creative capacity (lessons from John Dewey and Jane Addams). In S. Meager & R. Sundstrom (Eds.), Handbook on Philosophy of the City. Routledge.
Lake, D., McFarlRemaking the academy: The potential and the challenge of transdisciplinary collaborative engagement. In E. Kramer & A. Stoller (Eds.), Contemporary Philosophical Proposals for the University: Towards a Philosophy of Higher Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rabourn, K., Lake, D., Mileva, G., & Scobey, N. (2018). Transforming institutional capacity for community-based learning: Leveraging engaged department initiatives into a campus-wide community of practice. In T. T. York, A. S. Tinkler, & B. E. Tinkler (Eds.), Service-Learning to Advance Access & Success: Bridging Institutional and Community Capacity.
Awards
The Jane Addams Prize, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, 2019. “The Jane Addams Prize recognizes excellence in feminist scholarship in American Philosophy. It is awarded to the best paper presented at the annual meeting on issues in feminist thought as they occur in American philosophies, including their intersections with race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, (dis)ability and age, etc.”
Early Career Recognition, International Association of the Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement, July 2018. “Acknowledges and celebrates intellectual leadership through an emerging body of work that has begun to demonstrate broad and deep impact on service-learning and community.”
The John Saltmarsh Award for Emerging Leaders in Civic Engagement, American Democracy Project, June 2017. “This Award is given in recognition of exemplary early-career leaders who are advancing the wider civic engagement movement through higher education to build a broader public culture of democracy.”
The Distinguished Community Engagement Initiative Award, Grand Valley State University, April 2017. “This university-wide award honors sustained initiatives that offer deep student learning and community partner benefits.”
Douglas Greenlee Prize, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, March 2017. “The Douglas Greenlee Prize is awarded annually for the best paper presented at the annual meeting by either a graduate student or a person holding a Ph.D. for no more than five years.”
Early Career Scholar Award, Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence, Grand Valley State University, February 2017. “This award honors remarkable investigators who demonstrate mastery in their field and show significant potential for continued success. The award recipients have made major contributions to theory, research and creative practice, and they have earned national recognition for their outstanding achievements.”
Sustainability Champion Award, Grand Valley State University Office of Sustainability Practices, April 2016 & April 2015. “Sustainability Champions are individuals who, by practice and belief, support the ideals of sustainable practice in word and deed, and can be looked to as leaders in sustainability.”
John Lachs Award for Public Philosophy, Committee on Public Philosophy, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, March 2016. “This award recognizes an early to mid-career philosopher in the American tradition who exemplifies the best traits and practices of American public philosophy, or who brings unique insights or methods to broaden the reach, interaction, and engagement of public philosophy with the wider public.”
The Jane Addams Prize, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, 2014. “The Jane Addams Prize recognizes excellence in feminist scholarship in American Philosophy. It is awarded to the best paper presented at the annual meeting on issues in feminist thought as they occur in American philosophies, including their intersections with race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, (dis)ability and age, etc.”