Intellectual Engagement Communities (IEC)

What is the Intellectual Engagement Community Program?

The Intellectual Engagement Communities program at Moore Hall supports grassroots efforts to build innovative educational/training activities that highlight the role of the liberal arts in addressing contemporary social issues. 

Each IEC is a thematically focused student-faculty collaboration that engages in co-curricular learning activities designed to extend student learning via active engagement, skill-based training, and discovery. 

Each IEC is expected to maintain an active schedule of activities related to its proposed theme and contribute to community dialogue through at least one public event annually.  

Each IEC receives a budget to provide Faculty and student collaborators who lead the community with a stipend for the year and start-up funds to support community activities.  

Each faculty and student leader is officially named a Moore Center Fellow for the year and is expected to attend an orientation meeting early in the fall and periodic meetings throughout the year, coordinate the communities’ activities and budget, and prepare an end of the year report on the communities’ activities.  

Key Program Features 

Anyone planning to propose a new IEC should consider the initiative’s primary objectives and use them to guide the development of your letter of interest. 

Thematic Learning – Focused, co-curricular learning opportunities that center on a particular question, topic, or theme that addresses race (identity, inter-racial dialogue, racism, racial justice), power, oppression, resistance, and/or community strategies for survival and resilience.  

Innovative Pedagogy – A unique, high-impact learning/training experience that is innovative, disciplinary, or interdisciplinary and highlights the role of the liberal arts and Dominican pedagogy in addressing important social issues. 

Faculty/Student Collaboration – Create opportunities for frequent, meaningful interaction, dialogue, and shared leadership between students and faculty in ways that promote learning and self-discovery.  

Public Mission – A commitment to enhancing campus and/or campus-community dialogue that fosters a more caring campus community and a more just, equitable, and inclusive society that honors the sacredness of every human life. 

What Kinds of Activities Does the IEC Program Support? 

The IEC can be a forum to support any kind of unique learning experience. Communities are only limited by their collaborators’ imaginations in terms of programming and activities. We encourage collaborations that are creative learning experiences, utilize traditional and innovative practices (research, writing, project-based, workshops, community engagement, etc.), and allow collaborators to follow their passions. A sampling of possible community activities includes (but is not limited to): 

• New course proposals 
• Grant proposals 
• Research activities 
• Manuscripts for publication 
• Speaker series 
• Podcast 
• Film series 
• Conferences or colloquium 
• Community project 
• Art installations 
• Performances 

If you have an idea for a project not referenced above and are unsure whether it would be eligible, please ask! Questions can be sent to diversity@providence.edu. 

What are the Current Communities? 

The first cohort of communities launched during the 2023-2024 academic year. They are: 

Led by Dr. Virginia Thomas (Art & Art History/Women’s and Gender Studies), The Queer StoRIes Project is a collaborative research and public humanities project that trains students in the collection and processing of oral histories about Rhode Island’s LGBTQ+ history, including the archiving and cataloging of those histories. Students will partner with a broad intellectual community in determining how the archive can promote community dialogue regarding RI’s LGBTQ history and the role BIPOC and low-income individuals have played in that history.  The Queer StoRIes Project was the founding collection of Rhode Island’s first LGBTQ-specific archive and the Providence Public Library and has worked with a variety of partners including Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Foundation. This year The Queer StoRIes Project is creating a digital zine centering stories of several individuals featured in the archive. 

Led by Drs. Eva Wheeler (World Languages & Cultures/Black Studies) and Alioune Fall (World Languages & Cultures), Black Europe: Identities, Histories, and Experiences, will involve students in an exploration of Black identities across the continent of Europe! Black Europe is an invitation to engage directly and indirectly with how Black identities are lived and experienced across Europe.  This year, Black Europe is sponsoring a spring film series at Moore Hall, which will showcase three films featuring the Black experiences in France and Britain. 

How Does the Application Process Work? 

The Steering Committee invites applications for new Intellectual Engagement Communities each spring. Interested individuals are asked to submit a letter of interest (LOI). LOIs are no longer than two (2) pages and must include the following elements:  

1. Executive Summary – A one to two-paragraph overview of the proposed IEC that should answer the question: What will this IEC do? The summary should include a title/name for the IEC and its intended educational/intellectual focus. 

2. Objectives – One to two paragraphs that answer the question, why is this IEC necessary? Please describe the stated purpose, the learning or experiential opportunity being provided/need being met, and how program funding will aid in achieving the proposed IEC’s stated purpose(s). 

3. Goals – One to two paragraphs that will answer the question, what do you hope to accomplish? The narrative should identify the anticipated student, campus, and/or community impacts of the community and its activities. 

4. Miscellaneous – If you hope to pursue collaborations with campus or off-campus units, organizations, and/or individuals, please identify these collaborations and the nature of the collaboration (additional funding sources, co-programming, service site, teaching/learning partnership, etc.). Confirmed commitments and details are not required at this time. 

The Steering Committee will review and evaluate LOIs. We are appreciative of all who apply and are excited to review applications. Upon initial review, we will invite selected applicants to continue with the application/review process. If you receive this invitation, details will be provided to you at that time. 

What Does the Selection Timeline Look Like?  

APRIL 13, 2024  

Letters of Interest are due at 12 p.m. to diversity@providence.edu. 

APRIL 19, 2024  

Letter of Interest replies mailed. 

APRIL 29, 2024  

Round 2 submissions are due at 5 pm to diversity@providence.edu. 

MAY 4, 2024  

Fellow appointment/IEC selection decision letters mailed. 

Interested, but not sure you are ready to submit a letter of interest?  

Then consider becoming a member of the IEC Program Steering Committee! Becoming a member of the Steering Committee is a great way to learn about the work and operations of the IEC Program. The Steering Committee oversees the IEC program and provides strategic vision and planning. The Steering Committee is composed of students, faculty, the Director of the Center at Moore Hall, and the Moore Hall Faculty in Residence (who provides administrative support to and convenes the Steering). The Steering Committee has the following responsibilities: 

• Sets annual timelines for recruitment, review, and selection of IEC proposals. 

• Appoints IEC Fellows. 
• Reviews IEC annual reports and re-appoints Fellows. 
• Conducts the IEC program’s annual review, continuous improvement, and strategic planning activities. 

If you are interested, contact the Moore Hall Faculty in Residence at diversity@providence.edu.