Doctoral Student Awarded Newkirk Fellowship in Community-Based Research

The UCI Newkirk Center for Science & Society awarded doctoral student Jennifer Renick a Newkirk Fellowship in Community-Based Research for the 2019-20 academic year. As part of the fellowship, Renick will work with the Orange County Environmental Justice (OCEJ) organization and its People for Environmental Justice (PEJ) program. 
​
Newkirk Fellowships are structured to "train the recipients in participatory, emancipatory methods that lead to the development of relevant research questions and more inclusive knowledge production practices." Fellows receive a $5,000 stipend for the year, participate in nine-part workshop in research justice workshops, and partner with local community-based organizations to conduct community-based research. Renick is one of six Newkirk Fellowship recipients on the UCI campus.
​
​"I believe community-engaged research is the way to do research that is impactful and ethical, so I am so excited to be a Newkirk Fellow this year," Renick said. "Through this fellowship, I am able to learn more about how to meaningfully partner with community based organizations to both promote change and produce scholarship."

"This fellowship is an amazing opportunity for a doctoral student with a long history of working with schools and nonprofit organizations to cultivate her skills for doing research with the community that is socially relevant, rigorous, and impactful," said Renick's advisor, Associate Professor Stephanie Reich.

Renick is a third-year doctoral student specializing in Human Development in Context (HDiC). She is a graduate student researcher in UCI's OCEAN project, where she has been working to develop a research-practice partnership with a local middle school and college access nonprofit​. Her research interests include adolescents’ sense of school belonging, factors that impact positive school climate, and community-engaged research methods. She is advised by Reich and Elizabeth van Es, associate dean and associate professor at the School of Education. 

The Newkirk Center focuses on the interaction between science and society, including the role of society in the production of scientific knowledge and technological systems and artifacts and the effects of scientific knowledge on society. It seeks to explore and think critically about the process by which scientific information is communicated to the public and policy-makers. It fosters the use of science to enhance the environment, education, health care, public infrastructure, and justice. The Center carries out its mission through support of research, public engagement, and events.