Catherine Cotrupi

Catherine Cotrupi serves as assistant dean for student services, inclusion, and strategic partnerships at the Graduate School. Prior to working for the Graduate School, Cotrupi worked for several years at VT Engage: Center for Leadership and Service Learning and as a research assistant for Jake Grohs, an associate professor in the College of Engineering, on community-engaged research projects. “My passion lies in the intersections of DEI work, social justice, and community-based learning and research," she said.

How would you define engaged scholarship?

It's really important to center the community’s voices and experiences and community-engaged scholarship starts there. It should be directly tied to the community’s wishes. I especially love like what Dr. Jessica Taylor does in history, starting with the community’s questions and the community’s interest in history.  

How does community-engaged scholarship enhance learning for students?

For graduate students especially, I think it's important for them to recognize that there are many ways their research can have an impact. I think oftentimes, when if students aren't exposed to community engaged research from the outset, they very much think more of research in the lab or in in whatever their academic realm is. While they are thinking about the outcomes and impacts, I think with community-engaged research, it's especially important for them to think of those real-world immediate community impacts.  

I really enjoy working with graduate students on this especially. They have a much wider reach and a much narrower focus on their education. Through those lenses, it really allows them to think differently about social problems, community problems, global problems, whatever the problems are that they're working on, with that in mind.

If you had a student that wanted to be involved in a community engagement project but didn't know how to start, what would you say to them?

Come talk to me. I'm a big networker, connector, super communicator. I love making connections, and I love talking to students, so I'd be happy to do that even if I'm not the right person at the end. But I love both widening my own network and net but also making those connections between others as well.