Civic science matters – 1:1 fireside chat with Dean Mariette DiChristina from Boston University

This Nov 14, 2024 simulcast featured a fireside conversation at Northeastern University’s Public Engagement with Science Hub (PESH) between Fanuel Muindi and Mariette DiChristina, who is the Dean of the College of Communication at Boston University and Professor of the Practice in Journalism.

With the core aim of PESH of breaking down silos both within Northeastern and more broadly across the greater Boston area around science communication, the conversation focused on the ongoing scicomm/civic science work at BU and the upcoming launch of the Graduate Certificate in Civic Science Communication.

Previously, Dean DiChristina served as executive vice president of Magazines at Springer Nature, where she managed Nature magazine, client editorial and publishing teams, and spent a decade as editor-in-chief of Scientific American. She also sits on the board of the Society for Science and advises the National Academies of Sciences’ Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication and Climate Crossroads initiative.

Learn more about PESH

Learn more about the Graduate Civic Science Certificate

CivicSciTV Simulcast is a program that partners with organizations to broadcast seminars, talks, and events related to civic science. Get in touch with us at mlab@civicsciencemedia.org if you are interested to partner with us to showcase or simulcast an upcoming event on CivicSciTV’s Simulcast Program.

Chapters

0:03 Welcome & Intro

3:07 Defining Civic Science

7:10 Civic science at BU

9:25 Creating new courses

13:10 Launching the certificate

17:23 Neil Lane

17:57 Who’s the audience?

19:22 Metrics

22:25 Standing committee

24:47 Graduate training needs

27:18 Setting strategic goals

29:08 The Market Need

35:12 Defining engagement

38:08 Addressing scope creep

40:22 Intentional course design

42:03 Reflecting on cycles

44:39 Boundaries

46:48 Explaining the Need

49:27 Strategic communication

51:45 Future vision

Fanuel Muindi

Fanuel Muindi is a former neuroscientist turned civic science scholar-journalist and entrepreneur. He is a Professor of Practice in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University where he leads the Civic Science Media Lab. Dr. Muindi received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology and PhD in Organismal Biology from Morehouse College and Stanford University respectively. He completed his postdoctoral training at MIT.