Assistant Professor Catherine Hartman to Join University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement 2025-2026 Class of Fellows

Catherine Hartman, an assistant professor of community college leadership in the NC State College of Education, has been selected to join the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement 2025-2026 Class of Fellows.

The fellowship program offers 12 scholars an opportunity to spend a year tackling issues that impact expression and democratic engagement in higher education. 

“This fellowship presents an opportunity for me to foster connections with researchers, practitioners and activists seeking to support civic engagement and free speech,” Hartman said. “I look forward to working alongside my cohort as well as pursuing my research, which focuses on intersections of community colleges, civic engagement, learning and workforce development.”

Hartman’s fellowship project, entitled “Understanding the Role of Civic Engagement in Supporting Community College Workforce Development,” will examine the dynamics of civic engagement and workforce development in career and technical education (CTE) programs at North Carolina community colleges. 

Over the course of the fellowship, Hartman will collaborate with students enrolled in these programs, as well as CTE faculty members and student support staff, to understand their perspectives and develop tools to generate sustainable change to support both career training and civic learning. 

The ultimate aim of the project, she said, is to provide evidence about student engagement and co-curricular opportunities for civic learning to help more educators identify strategies to enhance democracy across communities. 

“Community colleges provide significant benefits to a range of students, organizations and local and state communities through specialized CTE programs and workforce development initiatives,” Hartman said. “Ultimately, this project builds on the potential and capacity of community colleges by documenting how civic engagement can be used to bolster the impacts of a community college education.”