Tuesday afternoon, March 29, was dedicated to a public lecture given by Dr. Tara Kolar Bryan, who stays at FEA MU within the Center for Nonprofit Sector Research (CVNS) as a Fulbright Scholar. Tara works at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she oversees the Public Administration master degree program. Her primary scholarly and research interests are nonprofit organizations and civil society actors. Tara Bryan conducts part of her research in the Czech Republic, with the help of colleagues from the Center for Nonprofit Sector Research.
The lecture focused on a community-anchored approach to academic work. Tara Bryan describes herself as a "pracademic", a person whose activities cross the boundaries between academia and practice. In her presentation, she highlighted issues related to how researchers share their findings with practice (or practitioners), how and whether we train researchers to be able to cross the boundaries between theory and practice, whether we address questions and problems that are socially relevant, as well as the ways in which local communities can be engaged in research.
Tara Bryan's career as a practademic, i.e. a person on the borderline between the two worlds, is symbolic. Most of her publications are based on applied research, reflecting the needs of local stakeholders and maintaining a high level of academic expertise.
At the end of her presentation, Tara Bryan discussed the issues with the participants who were not only academics but also students of the subjects that Tara Bryan teaches at FEA.
Note to our readers: if you would like to contact Tara Bryan, you can do so via e-mail tbryan@omaha.edu or in person at FEA MU until the end of May.
