Dr. Grace Kang, a faculty member in the School of Teaching and Learning, received the Centering EDI Award in April during the University’s annual Civic Engagement Celebration hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement.
This award recognizes an individual or group who has developed a civic engagement project that exemplifies the center’s vision of a more just and equitable world cultivated through the co-creation of knowledge, mutually beneficial partnerships, and collective action.
“Dr. Kang’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion goes beyond centering in her work, it is at the very core of her teaching, scholarship and service,” said Dr. Erin Mikulec, professor and interim director of the School of Teaching and Learning, in her nomination.
As an active member of the Champaign community through her service with the Unit 4 school district, Kang found an opportunity for her ISU teacher candidates to become involved as well, Mikulec said, developing the Civic Engagement Cohort for her classes, a model that was uncommon at the time.
“Dr. Kang led the cohort with two other instructors to develop a cohesive and meaningful semester-long experience for students that far exceeded the usual expectations of observations in a clinical class,” Mikulec wrote. “Dr. Kang’s teacher candidates engaged with the school as part of the community, learning about partner organizations and the wealth of knowledge and resources available to students beyond the classroom.
Dr. Kang provides teacher candidates with the opportunity to truly engage with another community that is similar to, and different from Bloomington-Normal, Mikulec said. “These experiences are crucial for teacher candidates to develop a deeper understanding of education and how schools form part of the community around them.”
The Center for Civic Engagement celebrates Illinois State University’s core value of civic engagement by annually recognizing individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions to civic engagement. The Civic Engagement Awards were first presented in 2017 by the American Democracy Project. Recipients are honored each year at the University’s Civic Engagement Celebration in April.
