About the Journal: 

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Transformative Social Impact: A Journal of Community-Based Teaching and Research is a multidisciplinary, practitioner-oriented academic journal dedicated to advancing community-engaged scholarship, teaching, and collaborative research for social change. Our mission is to connect researchers, educators, students, practitioners, and community stakeholders in their efforts to address complex social issues and drive transformative community impact.

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Transformative Social Impact publishes rigorously peer-reviewed articles, case studies, and pedagogical resources that showcase:

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• Empirical and theoretical research conducted in, with, and by community partners to understand social problems and innovative solutions

• Evidence-based best practices and meaningful processes that facilitate community-driven change

• Interdisciplinary academic research, student publications, and non-traditional forms of community-engaged scholarship

• We prioritize work that centers the perspectives and leadership of historically marginalized and underserved communities. Our aim is to provide an accessible, jargon-free publishing space that bridges the gap between academic theory and community-based practice.

 

Through collaborative, reciprocal partnerships, Transformative Social Impact amplifies community-university engagement that transforms teaching, research, and service to address complex social challenges and promote equitable, sustainable change. We welcome submissions from researchers, educators, students, and community practitioners across a diverse range of disciplines.

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​Transformative Social Impact aims to advance strategic community engagement, service-learning, and social impact practice through the global exchange of empirically and theoretically grounded knowledge and perspectives. Practitioner-oriented work, conceptual articles, rigorous academic literature reviews, meta-analyses, narrative reviews, and original research exploring approaches for developing community capacity and effectiveness through university-community partnerships, pedagogical innovation, community-based participatory research, and collaborative impact initiatives are welcomed.

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The journal provides a forum for the rapid dissemination of rigorously peer-reviewed case studies, metrics-based evaluations, and data-informed commentary on contemporary issues relating to community-engaged teaching, community-university engagement, and the evolving role of academia in catalyzing equitable, sustainable social change. Transformative Social Impact prioritizes work that centers the perspectives and leadership of historically marginalized communities and promotes cross-sectoral collaboration among researchers, educators, students, and community stakeholders.

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By bridging the divide between theory and practice, Transformative Social Impact amplifies scholarship and strategies that transform teaching, research, and service to address complex social challenges and drive community-driven impact. The journal welcomes diverse disciplinary and methodological approaches that shed light on effective models, scalable solutions, and emergent trends in community engagement and social innovation. ​

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Editorial Team (and core areas of expertise)

(send inquiries and other correspondence to TransformativeSocialImpact@innovativehumancapital.com)

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• Jonathan H. Westover (Ph.D., University of Utah), Editor-in-Chief - Chair and Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership, Academic Director, Center for Social Impact, Utah Valley University (Social Impact, Service-Learning, Impact Assessment, Social Change, Change Management, Quantitative/Qualitative Methods) 

• Ezgi Sertler (Ph.D., Michigan State University), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Associate Academic Director, Center for Social Impact, Utah Valley University (Engaged Learning, Social Philosophy, Critical Pedagogies)

• Kelly R. Hall (DBA, Kennesaw State University), Associate Editor - Interim Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Management & Supply Chain, East Tennessee State University (Leader Decision Making, Positive Organizational Scholarship, Workplace Experiences, Feedback and Performance Management)

• Qianwen (Rachel) Bi (Ph.D., Texas Tech University), Associate Editor - Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Finance and Economics, Director, FinTech Center, Utah Valley University (FinTech, Financial Planning, Financial Literacy Education, Financial Behavior, AI, Blockchain)

• Stevie M. Munz (Ph.D., Ohio University), Associate Editor - Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Utah Valley University (Critical Auto/Ethnography, Engaged Learning, Narrative and Storytelling, and Service-Learning)

• Bernd Kupka (PhD - University of Otago), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Radford University (International HRM, Consulting, Experiential Learning)

• Colleen (Coco) M. James (Ph.D., University of Utah), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, LEAP Academic Learning Communities, University of Utah (Community-Engaged Learning, Sustainable and Equitable Food Systems, Sociology of Gender and Sexuality)

• Ashley N. Egan (Ph.D., Brigham Young University), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Utah Valley University (Intersections of Service-Learning, Project-based Learning, Community-Engaged Pedagogy, Place-Based Learning)

• Sean Crossland (Ph.D., University of Utah), Associate Editor - Associate Professor and Program Director, Department of Higher Education Leadership, Utah Valley University (Social Impact, Service-Learning, Pathways of Social Impact, Community Organizing, Community Colleges, Democratic Engagement)

• Summer Valente (MPA, Brigham Young University), Associate Editor - Professional in Residence, Department of Organizational Leadership, Utah Valley University (Social Impact, Service-Learning, Strategy, Ethical Decision Making)

• Leandra H. Hernandez (Ph.D., Texas A&M University), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Utah (Social Impact, Critical Service-Learning, Community-Engaged Learning, Chicana Feminist Pedagogies)

• Dana Comi (Ph.D., University of Kansas), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, Department of English and Literature, Utah Valley University (English, Writing Studies; Technical Communication)

• Angela Schill (DBA, Grenoble Ecole de Management), Associate Editor - Assistant Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership, Utah Valley University (Marginalized Individuals, Job Satisfaction, Compassion and Caring, Working with Allies in Organizations, and Developing Entrepreneurial Solutions)

• Benjamin Johnson (Ph.D., The Ohio State University), Associate Editor - Associate Professor, Department of Student Leadership and Success Studies Utah Valley University, (Educational Design, Self-Regulated Learning, Metacognition, Student Use of Technology, Service-Learning, Faculty-Student Mentoring, First-Year Student Experiences)

• Zan Cammack (Ph.D., Southern Illinois University), Associate Editor - Lecturer, Department of English and Literature, Utah Valley University (Irish Studies, Material Culture, Digital Humanities, Service-Learning)

• Maureen S. Andrade (Ed.D., University of Southern California), Associate Editor - Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership, Utah Valley University (Online Learning, High Impact Practices, Organizational Change, Job Satisfaction)​​​​