Caroline Ketcham, Professor of Exercise Science, has been selected as the 2021-2023 Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) Scholar.
Caroline Ketcham, professor of exercise science, has been selected as the 2021-23 Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) Scholar. During her term, she will focus on equity in high-impact practices (HIPs) for neurodiverse and physically disabled student populations.
In addition to her disciplinary research in exercise science and her extensive leadership in wellness and well-being initiatives (including co-directing the Elon BrainCARE Research Institute), Ketcham has actively engaged in several lines of multi-institutional, collaborative scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL). She participated in the 2014-16 CEL research seminar on Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research and served as a seminar leader for CEL’s 2018-20 research seminar on Capstone Experiences. Ketcham also was part of a Colonial Athletic Association-funded grant to look at access to and participation in HIPs by student-athletes across the 10 participating CAA institutions.
In a highly competitive application cycle, the review committee noted that Ketcham’s proposed focus stood out both for its grounding in her own professional trajectory and for its connections to CEL’s mission and goals. Committee members noted that Ketcham’s application “draws on her strengths in her own discipline, but clearly points beyond” to develop resources for a “topic that is extremely timely, as higher education systems around the world are increasingly concerned with the issues of equity and inclusion.”
During a two-year appointment, CEL Scholars develop expertise in a specific aspect of engaged learning and create resources on that topic to be shared through CEL’s website and in other scholarly venues. The CEL Scholar position is an opportunity for an Elon faculty member to develop and deepen a professional development trajectory that includes scholarly activity on a high-impact practice or other engaged learning topic.
Ketcham is the fifth Elon faculty member to be named a CEL Scholar. Current and past CEL Scholars include Ketevan Kupatadze (2017-2019), Buffie Longmire-Avital (2018-2020), Phillip Motley (2019-2021), and David Buck (2020-2022). A call for applications for the 2022-2024 CEL Scholar will be released in fall 2021.