The WVU Center for Resilient Communities (CRC) based in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is honored to serve as a Knowledge for Change (K4C) Hub for mentorship training in community-based participatory research (CBPR) in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. The WV Hub was brought to WVU through the vision and leadership of Maria del Guadalupe (Lupe) Davidson, Associate Dean of Faculty in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences in 2021. Cynthia Gorman (Geography and Women’s and Gender Studies) and Bradley Wilson (Executive Director of the CRC) currently serve as co-coordinators of the hub, appointed in 2022. In addition to Davidson, Gorman and Wilson, Jessie Wilkerson (History) as well as community partners of the CRC Shanequa Smith (Restorative Actions) and Amy Jo Hutchinson (Rattle the Windows) are certified K4C mentors.
The WVU Hub joins 23 other K4C Hubs in 14 countries around the world. As a Knowledge for Change Hub the CRC and trained mentors provide support for CBPR and raise research capacities for the co-creation of knowledge by practitioners, youth, community groups and academics as a means to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Knowledge for Change (K4C) Consortium is an initiative of the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, under the joint directions of Dr. Budd Hall (University of Victoria, Canada) and Dr. Rajesh Tandon (PRIA, India).
Knowledge for Change (K4C) Hubs maintain a global standard developed by UNESCO Chair on CBPR around the world, especially in the global south and excluded north. Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that address critical challenges facing humanity today will require new insights and connections locally and globally. New understandings and innovative solutions have been shown to be catalyzed through co-construction of knowledge carried out in respectful partnerships with local communities. UNESCO Chair has developed global standards of curriculum and pedagogy for training next generation of researchers in CBPR. Knowledge for Change Hubs like the CRC seek to uphold the highest standards in CBPR training and community-university partnership practices.
WV K4C Certified Mentors
- Co-Coordinator, Cynthia Gorman, Assoc. Professor of Geography / Women’s and Gender Studies, WVU
- Co-Coordinator, Bradley Wilson, Assoc. Professor of Geography, Director of the CRC, WVU
- Founder, Maria del Guadalupe (Lupe) Davidson, Associate Dean of Faculty, Eberly, WVU
- Amy Jo Hutchison, Rattle the Windows, Economic Justice Organizer, WV
- Shanequa Smith, Restorative Action, Restorative Justice Practitioner, WV
- Jessica (Jessie) Wilkerson, Professor of History, WVU
Other Global K4C HUBs
Learn
more about these HUBs on the
website or at the links below: