Collaboratory is thrilled to welcome Lauren Wendling, the newest member of the postsecondary team.
Lauren brings insight and professional experience from both institutions of higher education and community organizations. Lauren has first-hand experience implementing Collaboratory on a university campus and an understanding of how to navigate building support from various stakeholder perspectives.
Lauren’s emphasis will be on helping institutions ensure successful implementation and utilization of Collaboratory. We hope you’ll look forward to getting to know her in the coming months!
Lauren attended DePauw University where she obtained her bachelor’s degree. It was at DePauw where Lauren’s passion for community engagement originated, serving her local community for 4 years as a Bonner Scholar. After graduation Lauren traveled to South Korea with a Fulbright scholarship, teaching English to local high school students and community members in rural Korea. After returning home, Lauren continued to pursue a career developing community programming in the non-profit sector – managing after-school programs for a local community center and collegiate programs for Best Buddies International. Lauren received her master’s degree from Butler University in Effective Teaching and Leadership and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs at Indiana University.
For the past three years Lauren has worked as a Graduate Assistant at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Office of Community Engagement. At IUPUI she has helped develop systems and processes for gathering information from across campus and the community to be used for assessment purposes, informed decision-making, and to illustrate IUPUI’s collective impact on students faculty, staff, the institution, and the community. It was at IUPUI that Lauren was introduced to Collaboratory. Realizing Collaboratory’s dedication to furthering the civic mission of institutions of higher education, Lauren is extremely excited to join the team. Lauren strongly believes in the public purpose of higher education and seeks to dedicate her professional work to strengthening institutions’ abilities to effectively engage with community. Realizing Collaboratory’s dedication to furthering the civic mission of higher education, Lauren is extremely excited to join the team.
