From the vaccination rollout to the constitutionality of the former president's impeachment trial, DePaul faculty in the 2020-21 OpEd Project cohort are making themselves heard. So far, the current cohort has placed more than 30 op-ed articles with national news outlets, including “The Washington Post" and “Scientific American."
“The OpEd Project is an exciting professional development opportunity for faculty who want to share their research and expertise with the broader public," says Carolyn Bronstein, associate dean and Vincent de Paul professor in the College of Communication and founding director of DePaul's OpEd Project. “This fellowship teaches participants to apply their knowledge to the most pressing issues of our times, from climate change to immigration, racism, homelessness, voting rights and addiction."
Launched in 2012-13, the Public Voices Fellowship program aims to provide a diverse group of scholars with the resources, support and skills needed to increase their influence as thought leaders in their fields. As fellows, faculty receive dedicated editorial support from an OpEd Project mentor, collaborate with fellow cohort members to brainstorm ideas and attend multiple seminars.
“The OpEd project is an amazing opportunity for faculty to learn how to engage in public dialogues on important topics," says Craig Klugman, professor health sciences and faculty director of the OpEd Project. “As a former fellow, the project gave me tools to be a successful public writer on issues such as racism in medicine, vaccine distribution and pandemic response. Seeing our new fellows fulfill their promise makes me proud and honored to be part of the DePaul OpEd family."
Despite this year's program taking place completely virtually due to COVID-19, the 2020-21 cohort is demonstrating plenty of momentum.
“The role of faculty in higher education is increasingly shifting toward a more public model, with public intellectualism comprising an important and lasting aspect of one's professional trajectory," Bronstein says. “I'm proud that we recognized this trend early on at DePaul and have made the OpEd Project fellowship program available to five cohorts since 2012-13."
A list of the 2020-21 cohort's published works is available on the College of Communication website. Keep an eye on Newsline's DePaul in the News section for the latest published pieces. The Public Voices Fellowship is sponsored by
Academic Affairs and the College of Communication’s Center for Communication
Engagement.
Get to know the 2020-21 cohort via the interactive gallery below:
Caroline Kisiel, School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Read more Caroline Kisiel is a public historian and humanities scholar with expertise in literary history, travel writing, creativity and cultural studies. Having presented and published a range of works in these fields, the primary focus of her current research centers on the settling of Albion, Illinois, in the early years of Illinois statehood.
Kisiel has published about the founding of Albion in the Journal of Illinois History (2015), in an essay on 1820s antislavery activist, Frances Wright, who had ties with Albion. She currently is writing a scholarly book on the antislavery activism of Albion, Illinois, with the University of Illinois Press.
A Road Scholar with Illinois Humanities, Kisiel offers public programs to Illinois residents on this topic. With the Wheaton Public Library (2020), she collaborated on community engagement programming for area residents on race, privilege, identity, community concerns, and Illinois history. She was the featured historian for the City of Albion Bicentennial (2018), and her research on slavery in early Illinois was featured in the Ask an Expert series in DePaul University Newsline (2018).