Basil Safi named executive director of Engaged Cornell

Basil Safi
Safi

Basil Safi, team leader at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs and director of field programs for its Knowledge for Health Project, has been named executive director of the Engaged Cornell initiative, Vice Provost Judith Appleton announced March 26. Safi will begin his new position June 11.

“Basil’s experience and credentials are impressive,” Appleton said, “and all of that comes together in a really terrific portfolio of expertise that we’re looking forward to having. We’re very, very excited about him.” Appleton is director of Engaged Cornell, and Safi will report to her.

The 10-year Engaged Cornell initiative, launched last October, is charged with promoting innovation in community-engaged and real-world learning, and making those practices the hallmark of the Cornell undergraduate experience.

Cornell “is unique in its vision and dedication of resources to systematize public engagement across its campuses. … Engaged Cornell provides a purposeful and scalable opportunity to further translate research into practice,” Safi said.

He noted that Engaged Cornell in many ways “is a broadened version of the approach taken by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. While CCP is primarily focused on evidence-based health communication initiatives around the world, both CCP and Engaged Cornell are deeply invested in implementation science and the close collaboration of faculty, staff, students and various other stakeholders to achieve sustainable progress.”

“This is a key position for Engaged Cornell,” Appleton continued. “We have an enormous and ambitious agenda.” Only one of seven initiatives of the program – community-engaged curriculum grants – has begun activity, but additional initiatives and partnerships will soon be underway.

Appleton said Safi will bring to Engaged Cornell the ability to successfully interact “with lots of different interested groups – students, faculty, staff, alumni as well as community groups both inside and outside the university … these communities could be anywhere – defined by geography, interest or need.”

At Johns Hopkins, Safi has designed and implemented public health and integrated communication programs, specializing in the areas of demand generation, consumer-driven improvement of health-care services, household behavior change and improving the efficiency of public health systems.

He received a master’s degree in public health from Emory University (2004) and his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech (2000).

The Engaged Cornell initiative was launched in October 2014 with a $50 million gift from the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust. David Einhorn and Cheryl Strauss Einhorn, both Class of 1991, head the trust.

Engaged Cornell will strengthen engagement resources throughout the university and support the design of curricula aligned with department, college and universitywide learning goals, tailored to each major and minor. To make this happen, Engaged Cornell competitive grants will be awarded to teams of departmental faculty. Other programs will support leadership and research programs open to all students.

Appleton said she is excited by the robust response to Engaged Cornell’s call for letters of intent for Engaged Curriculum Grants: of 78 departments on campus, 42 departments and academic units submitted 47 letters of intent.

Appleton said Safi will regularly interact with the initiative’s “very horizontal” leadership committee, which includes Appleton; Laura Brown, senior vice provost for undergraduate education; Susan Murphy, vice president for student and academic services; Rebecca Stoltzfus, provost’s fellow for public engagement; Richard Kiely, director of Engaged Learning + Research; Leonardo Vargas-Mendez, executive director of the Public Service Center; and Laura Toy, major gifts officer.

Media Contact

Melissa Osgood