Stories of Change

Imagining America’s Stories of Change project is a collection of case studies of exemplary demonstrations of campus culture change and public scholarship using art, humanities, and design methodologies. The Stories of Change were collected as part of a national Imagining America action research project aimed at holding institutions of higher education accountable to better support public, activist and engaged scholarship. Learn more about this broader initiative by reading the report Critical Intersections: Public Scholars Creating Culture, Catalyzing Change. As part of this effort, funded by the Mellon Foundation, twenty projects were selected in a competitive call for case studies. Each project team was asked to document their work through a written narrative and multimedia creations, viewable below.

The stories were created during the 2021-2022 years of the COVID19 pandemic, which limited the ability of partners to meet face-to-face and inspired many to produce media using video conferencing software. The stories were also completed during the national uprising that followed the public murder of George Floyd. Under these circumstances, we are proud of the work produced by each case study team and are inspired by the rich collection of stories. Together they demonstrate the power of community-university collaboration and creativity in strengthening relationships and deepening understanding surrounding some of the most pressing issues of our time.