Field Notes brings together insights from Indiana University faculty, staff, students, and partners whose work intersects with rural communities. Drawing on their research, professional expertise, and firsthand experience, contributors explore ideas, challenges, and opportunities relevant to rural Indiana and share perspectives that can inform and inspire community work across the state.
Bringing International Placemaking Week insights home to rural Indiana
In this Field Notes, Nicole Vasconi, Quality of Place Liaison at the IU Center for Rural Engagement, reflects on lessons from International Placemaking Week in Detroit and what they can offer rural... Read more about Bringing International Placemaking Week insights home to rural Indiana
Bridging History and Community in Odon, Indiana
In this Field Notes, Brenna Coleman, an arts administration student, reflects on how an IU course researching Odon, Indiana’s Abraham Lincoln statue connected research with community history.
Community Resilience Liaison, Nick Smaligo, reflects on the 2025 IU Rural Conference, capturing how courage emerged as the quiet force uniting community leaders, artists, and organizers in a shared pu... Read more about A Conference in Courage
Health Fairs Beyond the Numbers: Focusing on Meaningful Resident and Student Impact
Practicum student, Gabriela Diaz, reflects on the meaningful community health impact made through the Greene County Wellness Fair.
Stories in Place: How History Shapes Rural Placemaking
Every place has a story worth sharing. As a place-based storyteller, I admit I may be a bit biased, but working with the 2024 Rural Placemaking Studio cohort reinforced how unique each community truly... Read more about Stories in Place: How History Shapes Rural Placemaking
Ten Ways You Can Address the Addictions Crisis
How can you begin and continue the dialogue around substance use and foster positive change in your community? Here is a list of practical next steps you can take in your community today.
Aligning Teams for Successful Collaboration
While assessing the effectiveness of a community engagement project is complicated, there is one simple indicator that tends to be more highly correlated with successful projects than any other.
Serving those who have served: Creative Arts for Vets
Creative Arts for Vets is connecting with statewide and local organizations to support veterans and their families through arts-based wellness.
Heritage sites not only provide a connection to our history, but can also play a significant role in building community identity and pride.
Solving the Hoosier housing shortage
Solving a multi-faceted problem like housing shortages requires a tiered approach, but there is one place every community should start.
Putting community first in community-engaged teaching
While community-engaged teaching projects benefit students, how can we ensure that substantial benefits are also delivered to the community?
Community Health Improvement Planning
Despite limited resources, some rural communities have managed to confront health issues and find solutions for their residents. How do they do it?
Expanding Horizons through Music
The arts are a critical part of the human experience, providing opportunities for creative expression, self-reflection, and transformation.
Best Practices for Community Food System Projects
Communities with robust local food systems are more resilient because they can maintain influence over their resources and reduce their dependence on factors out of their control.
Regional collaboration can yield big payoffs, but requires a thoughtful approach. Take these six steps toward stronger collaborations.
The IU Center for Rural Engagement improves the lives of Hoosiers through collaborative initiatives that discover and deploy scalable and flexible solutions to common challenges facing rural communities. Working in full-spectrum community innovation through research, community-engaged teaching and student service, the center builds vision, harnesses assets and cultivates sustainable leadership structures within the communities with which it engages to ensure long-term success.
