Cooperative Extension has a long-standing history of placing individuals in communities to lead community-wide change. These individuals are employees of the nation's land-grant universities, with significant roles and responsibilities working between and among institutions and their communities. They often must maintain dual identities and roles,…

University-community engagement has been implemented by an increasing number of universities across the world, in a period characterized by growing international competition. The growth of interest in university-community engagement has led to multiple definitions of this term and a high level of complexity in defining what it entails. Using a…

This study explores the indicators of university-community engagement and their implications to evaluation. Through an examination of 47 studies, we validate that university-community engagement can unfold in many ways and impact many stakeholders, and that, evaluation focusing only on university perspectives might leave out the community…

This study at a university in Slovakia asked two questions: (1) Does completion of a service-learning course lead to changes in students' social and personal responsibility and their attitudes toward community service? (2) Are personal and social responsibility and attitudes toward community service correlated? Service-learning and the third…

Scholarship addressing public and community engagement in tenure and promotion often invokes Ernest Boyer's landmark 1990 report, "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate," and goes on to lament the lack of progress made in the three decades that have followed. This review intervenes: We synthesize extant scholarship on…

This research study analyzed the role of CEPs in strategic planning processes by examining the use of the civic action plan ("Campus Compact, 2018"). To ascertain whether institution-wide planning efforts around civic and community engagement create new opportunities for CEPs to take on institutional leadership roles, we interviewed CEPs…

This ethnographic case study describes how civically engaged students understand their commitment to social change. Literature on civic engagement and service-learning abounds, yet gaps remain in understanding how students understand and act on campus mission and culture with respect to civic engagement. Using the frameworks of transformative…

The calls for academics to engage the public have grown, motivated by concerns for civic health and for maintaining public and political support for higher education and academic research. Whatever its value to the public sphere, there is still considerable uncertainty about whether and how public engagement counts--is it valued by colleagues and…

This article describes the ISU 4U Promise, an innovative college access and affordability initiative. Through this early-commitment partnership program between Iowa State University and Des Moines Public Schools, youth from two urban elementary schools are eligible for tuition awards when they enroll as undergraduates at Iowa State University.…

Engagement is widely recognized by higher education institutions, nation-states, and international organizations as the third pillar in the mission of university education. Despite the global reach of this concept, published research is disproportionately based on examples from the United States. This article brings to light the rich and extensive…

Psychological sense of community (PSOC) is a construct that may facilitate social action in university students. Similarly, a social justice-focused university mission statement might also facilitate social action and interest. The current study investigated whether psychological sense of community, agreeing with the mission statement, and taking…

In this reflective essay, we describe Widener University's 10-year transformation from a disengaged institution to an institution that has a metropolitan-focused mission vested in civic leadership, community engagement, and service-learning. We describe our journey to embed an expansive civic frame that includes concrete practices of pedagogy,…

This study addressed the research question "How do regional accrediting standards apply to the central role of community engagement in U.S. institutions of higher education?" Using descriptive and qualitative methods, two sources were analyzed: published standards of the 6 regional accrediting commissions in the United States and the…

How does a early career faculty member survive the pursuit of campus-community initiatives? This article draws on experiences gained through a unique faculty position that combines community engagement with full academic responsibilities. "Survival" in this position emerges from the integration of community engagement with the…

The concept of and approach to service-learning across higher education has changed dramatically over the last two and a half decades. Historically, one of the primary goals of service-learning was to prepare undergraduate students to become engaged citizens and to introduce them to the challenges experienced by individuals from marginalized or…