Affiliated Faculty and Staff

  • Hiram E. Fitzgerald
  • Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement
  • University Distinguished Professor, Department of Psychology
  • E-Mail: fitzger9@msu.edu | Vita | Bio

Hiram E. Fitzgerald is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement at Michigan State University. He is president of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship and the Transformative Regional Engagement Networks, co-chair of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation's Committee on Engagement, and a past member of the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities' Council on Engagement's Executive Committee's Board of Directors.

Fitzgerald is past president and executive director of both the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and the International Association for Infant Mental Health, and served as executive director of the World Association for Infant Mental Health from 1992-2008. He has been associated with the Michigan Longitudinal Study of Family Risk for Alcoholism over the Life Course for 26 years; the Early Head Start National Research Consortium, the American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Research Center, the Native Children's Research Exchange, and the Tribal Early Childhood Research Center, all at the University of Colorado, Denver; and the MSU Wiba Anung EHS/HS research team monitoring workforce development and early childhood education in partnership with the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan. He is also a member of a variety of interdisciplinary research teams focusing on evaluation of community-based early preventive-intervention efforts in Michigan.

Fitzgerald's major areas of research include the study of infant and family development in community contexts, the impact of fathers on early child development, the implementation of systemic community models of organizational process and change, the etiology of alcoholism, and broad issues related to the scholarship of engagement. He has published over 500 journal articles, chapters, books, technical reports, and peer-reviewed abstracts. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Infant Mental Health Journal and Assistant Editor of Perspectives in Infant Mental Health, and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Higher Education, Outreach and Engagement and the Journal of Community Engagement Scholarship. He is senior editor of the two-volume Handbook of Community Engagement and Going Public: Civic and Community Engagement.

Fitzgerald received a BA degree in psychology from Lebanon Valley College (1962), and an MA degree in experimental psychology (1964) and a Ph.D. degree in developmental psychology (1967), both from the University of Denver. He has received numerous awards, including the ZERO TO THREE Dolley Madison Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to the Development and Well Being of Very Young Children, the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Selma Fraiberg Award, and the designation of Honorary President from the World Association for Infant Mental Health. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 7, 34, 37) and the Association of Psychological Science.

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  • John Schweitzer
  • Professor, School of Planning, Design and Construction
  • E-Mail: schweit1@msu.edu | Bio

John H. Schweitzer, Ph.D., is a professor in the Center for Community and Economic Development and an adjunct professor in the National Collaborative for the Study of University Engagement and the School of Planning, Design and Construction at MSU. He uses his knowledge of the social science research process to study the impact and effectiveness of educational and social programs and policies. His research interests include the measurement, study, and strengthening of the sense of community of residents in urban neighborhoods in order to promote empowerment and pro-social behaviors such as voting, recycling, volunteering, and participation in community-based organizations. Current projects include an evaluation of an effort to stimulate the knowledge economy in upper Michigan, a study of outreach and engagement in tenure and promotion processes, and an examination of the impact of the built environment on outdoor exercise. He has served as a Fulbright lecturer in Singapore and as a consultant/evaluator for numerous city, state, and federal agencies. In addition to teaching a variety of courses in statistics, research methodology, educational measurement, and program evaluation, Dr. Schweitzer has formally served on doctoral and master's committees for over 100 graduate students in 21 different departments at MSU, and he has informally assisted a similar number of graduate students with various aspects of their research.

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Laurie A. Van Egeren is Michigan State University's assistant provost for university-community partnerships. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and recently served as acting director of the Michigan State University Museum. Dr. Van Egeren conducts engaged research funded by NSF, NIH, state government, and foundations, including state evaluations of afterschool programs and child care consultation programs; early childhood science education; youth-driven spaces; parent programs for children diagnosed with autism; and programs to increase STEM college entry among African-American students. She is MSU representative to the Engagement Scholarship Consortium and is on the steering committee for the National Alliance for Broader Impacts, and a member of the APLU Council on Engagement and Outreach. She has a master's in clinical child/family psychology and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Michigan State University.

Research and professional Interests:

  • Prevention and intervention research and evaluation
  • Early childhood science education
  • Out-of-school-time programming
  • Broader impacts
  • Science communication
  • Institutional engagement

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