Students and faculty from Kansas State University’s leadership communication doctoral program assisted Reno County, Kansas, with the American Rescue Plan Act: Reno County Resident Engagement. More than $17 million was available to the community from the COVID-relief bill, and the residents of Reno County were guided through an inclusive, high-quality facilitated process that engaged 553 residents.
The leadership communication team was led by Sean Eddington, Ph.D., assistant professor in communication studies, and included doctoral students Sakshi Bhati, Jeff Johansen, Jessica Kerr, and Monica MacFarlane, as well as 2021 program graduate Susan Metzger. The team designed, implemented, and trained facilitators for the engagement process. They gathered data from the meetings, synthesized the findings into a report, and presented the results to the task force and community leaders.
“Ultimately, our goal for this project was to foster productive communication between community leaders and residents in Hutchinson and Reno County,” said Eddington.
“By creating an inclusive and creative process, we helped the community identify key priorities that were surfaced by the ongoing pandemic. Moreover, the process was positively received by the residents, and showcases the importance of advancing communication to engage wicked problems facing our communities.”
The data from the plan is available to the public, along with a video presentation at rallyreno.org.
“Community-engaged scholarship is core to our programs’ teaching, learning, and research approach,” said Kerry Priest, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the leadership communication program. “Students in our interdisciplinary program have the opportunity to study, collaborate, and impact the complex, real-world challenges facing communities.”
The leadership communication faculty and students partner with campus entities, government, non-profit organizations and businesses that are working to advance civic capacity, leading change and enhancing leadership learning and development. We do this work primarily through contracts, grant development and sponsored programs. To learn more, contact Brandon W. Kliewer, Ph.D., associate professor with the Staley School of Leadership Studies, at bkliewer@ksu.edu.