![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788904094_58_jacob-gordon.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Rod Williams sees engaged scholarship efforts, like bringing the hellbender salamander
\n to Minecraft, as a means to strengthen trust in higher education.<\/p>\n
\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When Rod Williams<\/a> joined Texas Tech University<\/a> as its first-ever vice provost of Outreach & Engagement in January 2024, he did so \u201cWhat was really exciting to me was that this position would allow me to build programs Williams has been intentional about engaging communities with his research since his \u201cWhen I started graduate school, I knew I wanted my research to have an influence After graduating with his doctorate, Williams remained at Purdue for 17 years, first His primary research interests centered on the eastern hellbender salamander. The Williams assisted in establishing Purdue\u2019s Help the Hellbender Center in 2008 after \u201cThat work was really an engaged approach,\u201d he said. \u201cIDNR reached out to me and was Williams and the Help the Hellbender Center\u2019s efforts over the last 17 years have Since launching in 2011, Minecraft has been played by more than 200 million users Through game-based learning, players explore Minecraft\u2019s open world as an eastern Williams hopes these efforts aimed at younger audiences create a lasting impact on \u201cThat\u2019s the power of working with communities: to not only help inform the message Engaged Scholarship<\/p>\n Now at Texas Tech, Williams hopes to build the necessary support and infrastructure \u201cI needed to hear from faculty and from deans what challenges they were facing,\u201d Williams Words like \u201cengagement\u201d and \u201coutreach\u201d were either being used interchangeably or had Williams set about creating institutional definitions<\/a> to get everyone at Texas Tech on the same page.\u00a0<\/p>\n Outreach, Williams explains, is a one-way delivery of information. Researchers provide Engagement invites the community to be partners in a mutually beneficial exchange Williams was excited to highlight an in-progress example of engaged scholarship. The Quenim is working with faculty from eight areas across Texas Tech and with the National Ranching Heritage Center<\/a>, a division within the Office of Outreach & Engagement, to help West Texas families At each step of the program\u2019s development, the FIRST team has actively engaged with At one point, the families reviewed drafts of the chapters for the toolkit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe families said, \u2018It\u2019s pretty heavy jargon to us. We hope that\u2019s not how you\u2019re The FIRST team also asked the families if there were other deliverables they needed. \u201cWhat I\u2019m so proud of is every single step of the way, they\u2019ve reached out to the Building Public Trust<\/p>\n Emphasizing engaged scholarship is what Williams believes can lead Texas Tech researchers \u201cIf you think about why public institutions were created, it was to help solve societal In July 2025, Gallup conducted a public opinion poll and found 42% of Americans have Strengthening the public\u2019s trust, Williams says, can be done by increasing knowledge Williams also is quick to say that peer-reviewed work, like publishing in academic \u201cHaving a diversified portfolio of scholarship \u2013 thinking about presentations, workshops, This process results in what Williams calls amplified impact.<\/p>\n Williams has his eyes set on making engaged scholarship a key component of graduate<\/a> student education. He has helped launch the recent Graduate Engagement Microcredential Program<\/a>, an eight-course series designed to help graduate students connect their academic \u201cThat is a glaring hole in higher education across the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cNo
\n with the goal of making engagement a core part of the university\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n
\n that were so much bigger than me,\u201d he said. \u201cI really wanted to serve this university.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Williams-Rod.jpg\")
Rod Williams (photo courtesy: Artie Limmer)<\/p>\n
\n days as an evolutionary genetics doctoral student at Purdue University in the early
\n 2000s.<\/p>\n
\n and an impact beyond my discipline and the academy,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew, as a researcher,
\n if you\u2019re trying to restore an animal on the landscape and nobody knows about it,
\n they can\u2019t appreciate it or help protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n as an assistant professor and eventually as assistant provost for engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n eastern hellbender is the largest salamander in North America \u2013 Williams has a life-size
\n model in his office that is nearly as long as his arm \u2013 and is primarily found in
\n the central and eastern parts of the U.S.<\/p>\n![\"Williams](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/williams-with-hellbender-.jpg\")
Rod Williams holds a hellbender salamander.<\/p>\n
\n talking with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The center researches
\n eastern hellbender salamanders and spearheads conservation efforts. At the time Williams
\n first met with the IDNR, the salamander\u2019s population numbers had been decreasing for
\n several decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n my first community partner. Then I reached out to the Indiana State Parks, my next
\n partner, and they allowed me to have my research hub there since the only river where
\n the hellbender occurred at the time was in a state park.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n culminated with bringing the eastern hellbender salamander to Minecraft with \u201cHelp the Hellbender \u2013 a Minecraft Conservation Quest<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/hellbender16-9.jpg\")
Courtesy: Microsoft<\/p>\n
\n across mobile, PC and console-based platforms. It is a sandbox-style game that gives
\n players a large degree of creative freedom to interact with the game\u2019s world. Minecraft:
\n Education Edition allows educators to meld the world of Minecraft and learning spaces
\n into one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n hellbender salamander while learning about the ecological challenges the salamander
\n faces. Players will also be introduced to a variety of conservation and wildlife management
\n principles as they complete various tasks.<\/p>\n
\n improving the eastern salamander\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
\n but how you deliver it,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you’re thinking about working with communities
\n and translating your research into something that is easily understood, it also leads
\n to adoption and changes of behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n to encourage other faculty to become engaged scholars. He recalls his first step was
\n simply to observe and listen.<\/p>\n
\n said. \u201cThe very first challenge was that we weren\u2019t even speaking the same language.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n completely different definitions based on whom was asked. Some people used \u201ccommunity\u201d
\n in place of one or the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Participants](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_1862.jpg\")
Williams gives a presentation on engagement and societal impact to the Davis College
\n of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources leadership team.
\n (Photo Courtesy: Scott Longing)<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0knowledge to a community \u2013 perhaps in an academic article, book, presentation or
\n workshop \u2013 and then leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n of information. The community informs the research, and the research educates the
\n community.<\/p>\n
\n Families in Ranching Succession Toolkit (FIRST) program is being spearheaded by Anish Quenim<\/a>, director of the Alderson & Griffin Center for Family Business & Entrepreneurship<\/a> at the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n develop succession plans for their ranches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n the community of family ranchers and sought their input.<\/p>\n
\n writing the book,\u2019\u201d Williams recalled with a few laughs. \u201cSo, the team went back and
\n pivoted, saying, \u2018If we write this as an academic journal, they\u2019re not going to read
\n it and we\u2019ve missed the mark.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n There are plans to now include workshops and succession planning sessions led by remediation
\n and counseling groups. The program will launch in full by fall 2026.<\/p>\n
\n ranching families and asked, \u2018Are we still headed in the right direction? What else
\n is needed?\u2019\u201d Williams said. \u201cIt started with the ranching families, and it\u2019s ending
\n with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n to having a greater societal impact and, in turn, strengthening the public\u2019s trust
\n in higher education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n issues,\u201d he said. \u201cEngaged scholarship is bringing us back to our roots and focusing
\n on those societal issues. Those should be the drivers of why we do research in the
\n first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \u201ca great deal\u201d or \u201cquite a lot\u201d of confidence in higher education. As low as that
\n number may be, it is actually the first time the number has increased in over a decade
\n and is six points higher from 2024\u2019s 36%, which was the lowest since Gallup began
\n tracking the data.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/team-retreat-.jpg\")
The Office & Engagement leadership poses after a team retreat.<\/p>\n
\n and changing behaviors, but the knowledge needs to come in ways the general public
\n wants to receive it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n journals or books, is still important, but it may not resonate much with the people
\n outside of academia.<\/p>\n
\n podcasts or game-based learning \u2013 is what\u2019s probably going to yield the most societal
\n impact,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for faculty to know you can use your research impact
\n to help develop your societal impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n work to real-world impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n university has figured out a way to really focus on graduate students and give them
\n the skill set to be an engaged scholar. It\u2019s one of my top priorities. From here,
\n it\u2019s possible for Texas Tech to be a leading institution to foster the next generation
\n of engaged scholars.\u201d<\/p>\n