A critical interest of applied anthropology is to educate students to be theoretically grounded and capable of assuming a level of social responsibility that extends beyond academia. In this paper, we reflect on the issue of student preparation for work in the policy arena by focusing on the experiences of a five-year applied research project that…

Explores an effort by Colgate University (New York) to enhance economic development in two low-income hamlets in New York through community-visioning programs. Describes the process of community visioning and shows how Colgate has been instrumental in its promotion. Argues that universities are better situated than governments or nonprofits to…

People working together on community projects benefit both themselves and the community. Quality Circles (Theory Z) is an example of this principle at work in industry. Employees who are involved in the decision-making process turn out a lower-cost, higher-quality product. This concept could prove valuable in small schools if students were…

Conventional notions of leadership have focused on the leader alone rather than on the situation that leaders must enable. The common threads to successful rural community development in Australia over the last few decades lie in the way the community develops its stores of social capital, which is based on trust, shared values, networks, and…

Reviews the broad social, economic, and political trends that are reshaping higher education, and introduces the two-issue series of American Behavioral Scientist (Volume 42, Issues 5-6) dedicated to analyzing innovative institutional and pedagogical endeavors and considering their potential for reshaping traditional practices. (DSK)

This edition of "Noteworthy" stresses the interdependence of rural schools and their communities, and offers ideas for developing both. Americans are becoming more open to school-community cooperation and to expanding the school's mission to include community development. Such cooperation involves communication among community leaders,…