Panelists will discuss innovative research and teaching strategies that integrate engagement with external communities into academic practice. Their engagement has not only impacted communities and society at large, but has also advanced teaching and learning, research, and scholarship. FEATURED PRESENTATIONS: "Evaluation of a Crisis Intervention Training Program Among Police Officers and Recruits" Winner of the 2021 President’s Emerging Engaged Scholarship Award A team of Texas Tech faculty are working together with the Lubbock Police Department to evaluate the local Crisis Management Training (CIT) program. Their research involves conducting assessments of officers’ knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors related to mental illness/substance use/suicide risk and managing mental health and suicide crises before and after they complete the CIT program. The Texas Tech faculty team also evaluates officers’ characteristics as well as experiences that may impact the effectiveness of the CIT program, and then follow up with officers after training to evaluate program material retention and longitudinal benefits. "A University-to-District Partnership in Leadership Preparation: The Co-Construction of the Texas Tech University Principal Fellows Residency Program" Winner of the 2021 President’s Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award To address systemic issues voiced by local school districts, the Texas Tech University Principal Fellows Residency Program began with a partnership between Lubbock ISD and the College of Education Leadership Faculty to impact an equity and social-justice-driven principal preparation pipeline in education, and produce a diverse pool of job-ready aspiring leaders to mirror the growing Latinx and Black demographics of the Lubbock ISD. Together, Lubbock ISD leaders and TTU Faculty visited and examined nationally recognized programs and Wallace Foundation research to create a plan to replicate a national model in the context of both Lubbock and the Texas school systems.