Scholarship in Action Program

The Scholarship in Action program (SIA) advances community-engaged research in Worcester through partnerships with faculty, students, and community stakeholders. By cultivating long-term relationships in Worcester, SIA faculty, student researchers, and community stakeholders design meaningful research projects that center principles of equity, antiracism, and shared knowledge production that engage wider audiences both locally and globally. Originally funded through a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and now funded by the College of the Holy Cross through the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, Teaching, and Engaged Scholarship, SIA supports faculty, students, and community organizations through resources, coordination, and short-term and long-term grants. 

The Three Tenets of SIA

Center Community

When we  build and sustain relationships with our Worcester partners that are based upon reciprocity and respect, we build trust.  From these relationships, we can collaborate to co-create creative projects to produce knowledge that will tap into the talents, capacities, and skills of our stakeholders, our faculty, and our students. 

Advance Equity

By encouraging Holy Cross faculty to think Worcester first when developing research agendas, we  produce research that matters both locally and globally. The collaborative approach to knowledge production from raising questions, sharing findings, and showcasing community projects ensures that our academic enterprise is equity-centered. 

Integrate the student experience

When faculty bring their students into their work in Worcester, students find ways not only to connect their liberal arts education to community-engaged projects, but also to bring their whole selves to the research in Worcester, offering immersive and transformative lessons in critical civic engagement.

By cultivating long-term relationships in Worcester, SIA faculty, student researchers, and community stakeholders design meaningful research projects that center principles of, equity, antiracism, and shared knowledge production that engage wider audiences both locally and globally. This initiative reflects the significant role that the liberal arts and the humanities, in particular, can play in addressing the complex challenges facing our common home whether in Worcester or in the wider world.