ORIC Spotlight: Texas Tech University

Posted On: 12-18-2024

Dr. Jessica Spott, Allison Eubanks, Dr. Anish Quenim, and Dr. Rod Williams standing together, smiling at the camera. — The Texas Tech ORIC Team. (Front Row, left to right: Dr. Jessica Spott, Allison Eubanks. Back Row, left to right: Dr. Rod Williams, Dr. Anish Quenim)

The first time Dr. Rod Williams participated in the ORIC program, he was the Assistant Provost for Engagement at Purdue University, leading a team as part of the 2020-2021 pilot cohort. When he entered the program again — this time as the Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement at Texas Tech University — he brought with him the lessons learned from his earlier experience.

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, Williams has hit the ground running. Returning to Texas in July 2024, he immediately began preparing Broader Impacts (BI) one-pagers and organizing seminars for new faculty arriving in August.

“We went to work,” Williams recalled. “We just started making fliers, filling out calendars, and setting up our subsequent meetings.”

Williams credits the ORIC program for fostering a strong and supportive community that drives institutional teams to deliver on their engagement goals. “That’s really helpful because we get busy,” he noted. “If we’re not held accountable in some way, building capacity can sometimes fall to the back burner.”

A Vision for Texas Tech

Williams’ strategy at Texas Tech is twofold. First, he aims to strengthen collaboration between the Office of Research & Innovation and the Office of Outreach & Engagement. Second, he plans to cultivate the next generation of engaged scholars by developing graduate courses that focus on advancing scholarship with societal impact.

For the latter, he draws heavily on his Purdue experience. For instance, he teaches a summer course titled Advancing Graduate Research in Practice, which originated during his time with ORIC as part of Purdue’s team.

Williams is also deeply involved in the broader field of engagement scholarship as the Vice President and Governance Committee Co-Chair of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium. In this role, he connects his ORIC work with the larger academic community dedicated to strengthening university-community partnerships.

Learning from the Cohort Experience

During the ORIC 2024-2025 cohort kickoff in July 2024, Williams focused on understanding the key players, resources, and infrastructure at other institutions. At Texas Tech, he is fostering close relationships within the Office of the Provost, aiming to leverage insights from these observations to secure continued investment in engagement initiatives.

One of his immediate goals is to standardize BI consultations through a unified approach. “We want to work through our departments in the Office of Outreach and Engagement because we already have the contacts in the community,” Williams explained. “We already have the infrastructure.”

A Phased Approach

Williams envisions the first year of the cohort at Texas Tech as focused on connecting research with community engagement. The following year, he hopes to expand into community-engaged learning, a hallmark of his Purdue tenure.

At Purdue, Williams intentionally recruited champions of community-engaged learning to advance his goals. He plans to take a similar approach at Texas Tech, using this year to identify the key players and stakeholders necessary for success.

A Supportive Community

Leaving the cohort’s Princeton kickoff, Williams felt reassured. The challenges Texas Tech faced mirrored those of other universities, and being part of a collaborative, supportive community reaffirmed his confidence in the process.

“It’s a relief to know we’re not alone in this work,” he reflected. “The ORIC community is a powerful resource for overcoming shared challenges and driving meaningful change.”