Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, Selected for International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Practitioner Scholar Community
March 10, 2026
BATON ROUGE, LA – Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, was selected for the 2026 Practitioner-Scholar Community (PSC) by the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement
(IARSLCE), the premier international professional research organization for service learning
and community engagement. 
Sulentic Dowell, Cecil "Pete" Taylor Endowed Professor in Literacy Leadership and Urban Education in the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education (SOE), joins 30 international scholars for a rigorous educational development program geared toward supporting faculty who pursue service learning and community engagement as part of their research agendas. The IARSLCE cultivates, encourages and promotes research across all engagement forms and educational levels, and encourages high-quality, trans-disciplinary research, fostering capacity of community engaged scholars.
Research and scholarship associated with community engagement is a significant line of inquiry for faculty. Sulentic Dowell, who coordinates SOE’s PK-12 Educational Leadership Program and is Director of LSU’s Writing Project, has pursued service learning and community engaged scholarship her entire career. She was named a faculty service learning fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi, prior to her employment at LSU, and she has participated in many of LSU’s Center for Community Engagement Learning and Leadership (CCELL) initiatives. Sulentic Dowell pursued designation of EDCI 3137, a course titled “Assessing and Guiding Classroom Reading Instruction,” as a service-learning course, a designation that continues. In February of 2026, LSU earned the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification for the third time, joining 236 United States institutions of higher learning in achieving this prestigious recognition.
“Scholars like Dr. Sulentic Dowell are instrumental for LSU’s continued demonstration of its commitment to community engaged approaches to teaching and research,” Sarah Becker, PhD, director of LSU’s CCELL, said. “We are so excited to see her selected as an IARSLCE Practitioner-Scholar Community member.”
Sulentic Dowell has numerous publications and scholarly presentations that focus on service learning and community engagement including an edited volume (Handbook of Research on Service-Learning Initiatives in Teacher Education Programs) published by IGI Global and a co-edited book (Expanding Elementary Teacher Education Through Service-Learning) published by Roman and Littlefield.
“Community engaged scholarship and service learning are important constructs in the research surrounding PK-12 school systems whether the focus is teacher education or leadership, and I have been fortunate to have benefited from CCELL’s faculty scholar’s program,” Sulentic Dowell said. “I am so grateful for the support and engaged scholarship leadership I have received from CCELL.”
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.