Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, Presents Original Research at the International Association of Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement
October 19, 2026
BATON ROUGE, LA — Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, faculty in the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education (SOE), presented a research session at the October 2026 Conference of the International Association of Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement
(IARSLCE). Partnering with Leah Katherine Saal, PhD, professor at Loyola University-Maryland
(and SOE alumna) and Tynisha Willingham, PhD, Provost of Eastern Mennonite University,
the trio presented an autoethnographic case study titled, “Practitioner Scholars Publishing
Engaged Scholarship: A Case Study Investigating Practitioner Scholars’ Understanding
Institutional Expectations, Gauging the Field, and Assessing Venues.” 
The study provided a recap of four elements. First, Sulentic Dowell, Saal and Willingham explored the historical purposes of higher education framed against the backdrop of the current highly politicized higher education environment. Second, the three presenters shared advice on understanding institutional expectations for tenure and promotion, using their professional experiences at their respective home institutions as case study examples. In a third section, the group offered recommendations and suggestions regarding how to evaluate discipline specific fields and engaged scholarship as appropriate venues for publishing and presenting research. The session ended with a fourth section where the trio provided guidance on how to assess publishing venues for suitability for engaged scholarship and practitioner scholarship.
“Practitioner scholars and engaged scholarship is still misunderstood,” Sulentic Dowell said. “As interdisciplinary scholars, we have encountered situations where reviewers question our engaged scholarship research as ‘fitting’ specific venues, and as practitioner scholars we have experienced instances wherein tenure and promotion committees have questioned our scholarship as rigorous. Even at LSU, a designated Carnegie engaged institution, peers have questioned the efficacy of conducting engaged scholarship, but having the Center for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership at LSU has been a tremendous asset as an engaged scholar and practitioner scholar.”
In the spring of 2026, Sulentic Dowell was selected as one of IARSLCE’s 2026 Practitioner-Scholar Community member. Sulentic Dowell serves as the director of the LSU Writing Project, coordinates the PhD program in Educational Leadership, and is an affiliate faculty member of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She has spent decades shaping the way writing is taught, understood and used as a tool for change. Through the LSU Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, Sulentic Dowell helps educators find their voices by engaging in meaningful, passion-driven writing such as engaged scholarship.
About the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
A school of the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education, the Lutrill & Pearl Payne
School of Education (SOE) offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue
a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification
in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. In addition, SOE
offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master’s degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate
programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of focus. SOE’s focus is not only on preparing
highly qualified teachers but also in preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies
scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals,
school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly
expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan.
Visit the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education website.