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:
Christopher Worthman, College of Education
Read more Christopher Worthman is a professor in the College of Education and in his 22nd year at DePaul. Prior to joining the university, he taught for a number of years in Chicago public and private middle and high schools.
In his more than 20 years of scholarly work, his research has evolved, but not diverged, from an interest in writing as emancipatory practice and how best to teach writing with that end in mind. He has published in national and international journals on topics as diverse as critical literacy, adult education, community-based theatre, English as a medium of instruction, and magical realism and trauma narratives. These publications include a book, 20 articles and chapters, and 28 referee-selected national and international presentations.
He is now immersed in trauma studies as it relates to literary analysis and the use of magical realism as a therapeutic response to trauma for both authors and readers, speakers and listeners. This work is in its nascent stages, but has led to one publication. He has also written two middle grade novels and received a Faculty Recognition Grant to prepare these manuscripts for publication. Both novels use magical realism to explore traumatic narratives around environmental destruction, wildlife protection, homelessness and transgender awareness.