Kansas State University’s Leadership Communication doctoral program is an interdisciplinary partnership of the department of communications and agricultural education, Staley School of Leadership, and the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication. This dynamic team of academic partners recruits an equally dynamic and impressive roster of doctoral students at K-State.
One student, Ron Orchard, D.V.M, M.P.H, CAWA, is a community outreach/shelter medicine fellow in the College of Veterinary Medicine and a graduate student in the leadership communication program.
Recently, Orchard was selected for two distinct programs associated with the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, a nonprofit organization with the goal of building university-community partnerships through scholarship, and to help build community capacity.
In September, Orchard participated in the Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop, a professional development program that provides resources to increase participants’ knowledge and practice of community engaged scholarship. Participants are selected on a limited basis, and the annual event is part of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium Annual Conference.
He has also been selected for an Engaged Scholarship Research/Creative Activities Grant. This program seeks to increase faculty involvement, increase awareness of and enhance the research for scholarship that is mutually beneficial for scholars and the community. Orchard was awarded $5,000 for his project, “Veterinary Street Medicine as a Means for Community engagement.”
“It is an honor to be awarded the Engaged Scholarship Grant and to be selected as an Emerging Engagement Scholar,” said Orchard. “My goal is for this work to directly impact communities throughout the state, while showing the national community of engaged scholars that K-State values this type of service, teaching, and scholarship.”
The objective of this project is to study processes and practices associated with mobile veterinary services and how they can be designed with community in ways that support holistic public health goals. Orchard will use the Engaged Scholarship Grant to advance a community-engaged project in Kansas over the next year. The project will focus on One Health clinics where veterinary services are offered alongside human-centric services like medical care, mental healthcare, housing placement, etc. For unhoused clients or those otherwise experiencing financial challenges. The goal is to research and analyze the experience these programs have on clients, students, and partner organizations.
“Dr. Orchard’s commitment to advancing community engaged scholarship in the fields of public health and veterinary medicine is truly cutting edge,” said Brandon Kliewer, Ph.D., associate professor at the Staley School of Leadership. “It is wonderful for the Leadership Communication Ph.D. program, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and K-State that the Engaged Scholarship Consortium has recognized the potential of Dr. Orchard as a community-engaged scholar. His work has the potential to reshape the field of outreach and engagement in veterinary medicine.”
K-State has made experiential learning and community engagement a top priority. Giving students and faculty the opportunity to work beyond the classroom and create mutually beneficial relationships within communities are a core part of K-State’s land grant mission. The engaged work of Dr. Orchard and other K-Staters is being spotlighted during President Linton’s statewide Regional Community Visits. To learn more, visit www.k-state.edu/president/initiatives/regional-community-visits.
