CUMU IMPACT FELLOWSHIP

The CUMU Impact Fellow provides leadership on behalf of the CUMU membership on initiatives related to impact, data, and metrics in institutional and/or regional impact. The CUMU Impact Fellow’s work includes producing a state-of-the-field report on proposed topic and presenting a webinar which explores topics including:

  • Metrics for tracking a campus’ impact as an anchor institution
  • How regional anchor collaborations measure, report, and improve impact
  • Community engagement impact: how data is collected, maintained, analyzed, and communicated
  • The role of data and analytics in advancing the urban mission in higher education
  • Key frameworks or populations in community engagement or regional impact work

2025 CUMU Impact Fellows

Elizabeth Castillo, Ph.D., director of Principles for Responsible Management Education at Cal State San Bernardino, and Roslyn Roberts, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting at Sacramento State, were named the 2025 CUMU Impact Fellows. During their fellowship, they researched global approaches to impact reporting at universities, with a focus on community engagement and impact metrics in those reports.

2025 IMPACT FELLOWSHIP AWARDED TO DUO FOR RESEARCH ON UNIVERSITY IMPACT REPORTING

elizabeth castillo, california state university san bernardino, and roslyn roberts, sacramento state

MICHELLE MEGGS NAMED 2024 CUMU-IMPACT FELLOW

michelle meggs headshot

More about the CUMU Impact Fellowship

One CUMU Impact Fellow will be selected for 2025. During the fellowship period, the awardee will produce a report on the state of the field related to a key topic related to community engagement and/or regional impact. Prospective fellows should bring their own expertise and experience to bear in order to propose a project that leverages their strengths.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Metrics for tracking a campus’ impact as an anchor institution
  • How regional anchor collaborations measure, report, and improve impact
  • Community engagement impact: how data is collected, maintained, analyzed, and communicated
  • The role of data and analytics in advancing the urban mission in higher education
  • Key frameworks or populations in community engagement or regional impact work

Submissions must be from a faculty member, staff, post-doc or graduate student from a CUMU member institution. Fellows should have the ability to synthesize findings from complex datasets.

Fellows will receive an award of $4,000, which consists of $2,000 at the initiation of the project and an additional $2,000 upon submission of the report which should occur no later than November 10, 2025. Funds may be used at the awardee’s discretion. The fellow will count on planning and consultation support from CUMU.

  1. Research and produce a state-of-the-field report on proposed topic
    Disseminated as a public facing CUMU report (See examples Homelessness & Housing Insecurity and Building Community Capacity via Place-Based Hyperlocal Engagement), this document is meant to provide an essential state-of-the-field overview to CUMU’s membership on a topic of high interest.
  2. Present a webinar for CUMU membership on report topic
    The webinar will take place in August or September 2025, prior to the publication of the final report. CUMU will work with the fellow to coordinate the best day/time.