MODERATOR: Patrick M. Green, editor, Metropolitan Universities journal
Metropolitan Universities, the journal of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, provides an opportunity for scholarly peer-reviewed online publication that centers the relationship between communities and campuses. In this webinar series, authors and editors discuss key ideas from the most recent issue and invite readers to join in the work of connecting our scholarship to our practice.
This panel features authors from a recent issue of Metropolitan Universities journal Vol. 36 No. 3 (2026). In this issue, a variety of articles on higher education and communities explore the core concepts of community democracy through the scholarly interrogation and research of a variety of scholar-practitioners. For example, community partnerships, community engagement, student engagement in K-12 settings, service sociology and public sociology, creative pedagogies, and capacity-building for community partners are explored more deeply in the context of place-based approaches. In this webinar, participants will engage with the other authors to discuss these topics in more depth.
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ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Sondra Barringer is an associate professor of higher education in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership at the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University. She is also the director of the Ed.D. in higher education program. Her research agenda is focused on understanding the behaviors of colleges and universities and, in particular, how they engage with and respond to their environments. She leverages novel data and methodological approaches, in combination with organizational theories, to answer innovative questions that are fundamental to understanding how colleges and universities function within our society.
Elizabeth Clifford joined the Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Towson in 2000. Dr. Clifford’s research interests are immigration, gender, inequality, race and ethnicity, and pedagogy. Her co-authored book, Immigration and Women: Understanding the American Experience, was published by New York University Press in Spring 2011. She earned degrees from University of Toronto and Northwestern University, and has previously taught at Northwestern, University of Illinois-Chicago, and Connecticut College.
Norman Conti is a professor of sociology and the coordinator of Duquesne’s Social Justice Association. Along with six men serving life sentences at the State Correctional Institution in Pittsburgh, Dr. Conti founded the Elsinore Bennu Think Tank for Restorative Justice (EBTT). Together, they developed Police Training Inside-Out, a criminal justice course that brings police recruits together to study as classmates with incarcerated men. After the prison closed, the EBTT was reestablished on campus at Duquesne as a weekly conference of community activists, returning citizens, artists, political leaders and police officers.
Dustin Grabsch is an accomplished university administrator and scholar currently serving as the assistant provost for undergraduate education and academic success at Southern Methodist University, where he oversees initiatives that support student success, including general education, student retention, disability services, the university testing center, and initiatives supporting first-generation and high-achieving students. He also co-leads SMU in Four, a campus-wide effort focused on increasing graduation and retention rates. Dr. Grabsch holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications from Texas A&M University, with his research emphasizing organizational and community leadership.
Michelle Vázquez Jacobus is an associate professor of the sociology program at the University of Southern Maine where she works from backgrounds in both social work and law to promote equity, inclusion, and community-engaged learning. Dr. Vázquez Jacobus’ scholarship explores the policy implications of food access; public art and culture; assets and programs for immigrant communities; collaborative multi-disciplinary community engagement projects; and the importance of community engagement on pedagogy and social justice. Recently, her scholarship has focused on promoting access to education for marginalized communities and addressing climate change through community empowerment and cross-cultural communication.
Masuma “Missy” Lonczak serves as deputy director of the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs. In her role she oversees language access program implementation and supports the development of the office’s strategic plan. She also supports in the coordination and implementation of initiatives including the New American Leadership Institute and the annual Immigration Summit. Missy has previously served as a program administrator at Johns Hopkins University and worked with the food policy team at the Baltimore City Department of Planning. In addition to double majoring in International Relations and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Goucher College, she holds a master’s degree in Public Administration, Management and a paralegal certification from Marist College.
Caitlin Taylor is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice. Her research investigates the collateral consequences of mass incarceration as well as issues faced by returning citizens. Her research has been published in The Prison Journal, Violence & Victims, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Probation Journal, The Journal of Offender Rehabilitation and several other outlets. She has served as a research and evaluation consultant for federal and local court systems, the Federal Judicial Center, and federal probation departments. Valuing the voices and actions of people currently incarcerated in criminal justice reform strategies, Dr. Taylor is an active member of several lifers’ groups at the State Correctional Institute at Phoenix.