CHC Faculty Series: Deborah Keisch

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I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Deborah Keisch, director of the Community Scholars Program (CSP), as a part of the new CHC Faculty Series, where we highlight faculty affiliated with the Honors College. In our conversation, she shared with me the journey that led her to her current role, the joy she finds in teaching CSP classes, and how she approaches teaching and directing the program.  

The Community Scholars Program is a two-year academic community engagement program that works in collaboration with community organizations and movements to advocate for a more just world. The first two semesters of the program focus on academic work related to social justice. In the last two semesters of the program, students work towards completing a project which serves as their Honors Thesis.  

At the start of the interview, I asked Deborah how she found herself in the world of academia, and more specifically CSP:

“I was a graduate student here at UMass in the anthropology department, where I got my PhD, and my teaching assistantship was in the CSP. I was a TA in some of the CSP classes and ultimately started teaching as a graduate student.”  

Deborah then completed her dissertation on the Community Scholars Program and received her PhD. She said that when the job opened, she had been out in the world and was not planning to return to academia.  

“Yet the director of the CSP opened, and this person would be in charge of the program and teaching the classes. And I felt like it was a dream come true. And so, I applied, and I got the job, and well…this is my seventh year now as director,” she explains. 

I then asked Deborah about what she thinks makes Honors courses special:

“I think that as a teacher, it's amazing because I don't have to teach these large lectures, and I do have the luxury of getting to know my students and designing classes that are seminar-based, that are really discussion-based. So, I think that is special,” she replies.

Deborah Keisch (wearing black hat) with her students at a protest in Boston during spring 2023, Photo courtesy Deborah Keisch

After just a few minutes of chatting, it was clear to me how much love and admiration Deborah has for the Community Scholars Program. But I had to ask if she had a favorite part of her job:

“I would say the relationships with students are number one. Every time a cohort graduates, I cry…every single year. It’s because I feel so fortunate to get to know students so well. But I also just think the combination of being able to support students to be in the community and connect what they're learning in that work, back to what we're learning in the classes, feels really exciting to me. So, I love that,” Deborah says.

“I also just love having deep discussions with students about issues that, to me, are really important. About social issues, things that are critically important to the world around us. We're constantly bringing that into the space, and I get to have these conversations with students about things that are important to me and that affect them,” she continues.  

Before we wrapped up, I asked Deborah what she would say to a student who may be reluctant to enroll in a CSP class:

“I never want to try to convince someone. So if someone feels like the workload is going to be too much, then it may be too much." 

"But I think that the community that we build in the CSP is so important for people at UMass — when often this is like being in a city and you can feel really anonymous. And especially if you're in a lot of large lecture classes, this is an opportunity to really build community with peers and get to know faculty in a way that is truly different than a lot of other spaces here,” she says.

Deborah also shared that she approaches teaching relationally, which allows her to be flexible with all her students. She noted that she is aware all students have challenges,  and she never wants anyone to feel overwhelmed by her class. She is “committed to the whole human being in the classroom.”  

As a student of Deborah’s, I can attest that she sees us as so much more than her students — but as a friend and someone she cares for, it is clear that she loves this program and gives it so much of her time and energy to it.

As Deborah and I wrapped up our conversation she wanted to share her last thoughts:

“I want students to feel that there's a sense of hope and possibility in this world. I want students to learn about structural inequality and oppression and not be immobilized or overwhelmed by it, but through this program, learn how to build together with other people for a more equitable world. And I think that vision and hope is central. I want students to leave here and feel like there's a future that they can envision, that they feel good about, for themselves”.

Applications to join the Community Scholars Program are now open. The application deadline is March 29, 2024. Apply using the form on the CSP website.