Community Connectors is a monthly series highlighting Ohio State staff members who have shown leadership in partnering with our communities to make an impact.

Dr. Terron Banner
Manager of Community Learning and Experience / Lecturer
Urban Arts Space / Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy

As a lecturer in the Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy and manager of community learning and experience at the Urban Arts Space, I lead a project titled "Care, Culture, & Justice as Practice, a community engagement initiative that prioritizes authentic collaboration with historically underestimated communities. Recently awarded $250,000 through the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme and Office of Outreach and Engagement, this project establishes sustainable support for programs that prioritize co-creation with the community.

...The most profound lesson I've learned from community engagement is the power of flat hierarchical structures. Traditional academic approaches often position the university as the knowledge-holder and community members as recipients. Through my work with the Performance Regime model, I've learned that mobilizing collaborative efforts rather than enforcing control creates more sustainable and authentic engagement. This has transformed how I approach program development, resource allocation, and even assessment.

Read the full interview on Ohio State Outreach and Engagement!