Describes the development of the University of Western Sydney, Australia, from being a university with spasmodic and uncoordinated outreach programs to one that is truly engaged with its community. Presents two examples of educational partnerships in which the university exercises coherent purpose and strategic direction. (SLD)

Describes the current structure and processes at Penn State designed to enhance and unify efforts to link its resources to the communities it serves. Discusses the current dialogue within this major research university on issues related to the "engaged institution" and reports on the progress of several faculty groups that support…

An early proponent of university development of community outreach partnership centers (COPCs) outlines his philosophy and encourages institutions to establish and nurture such programs, both for the public good and to promote positive change within the university. (MSE)

Offers insights gleaned from the 30-year history of outreach and engagement of the University of Nebraska's College of Public Affairs and Community Service. This interdisciplinary college, which promotes research and teaching partnerships with the Omaha community, is now helping its university be part of the community, not simply in it. (EV)

The Ohio Urban University Program, a consortium of eight universities, is a collaborative program of research, training, planning, database development, and technical assistance serving Ohio's major metropolitan areas. It has developed an evaluation system to assess the effectiveness of and help improve its outreach services. The system's…

When metropolitan universities refer to serving the entire metropolitan area, they often refer to rural fringes as well as concentrated urban populations. Working with rural communities requires somewhat different approaches to planning programs and understanding needs. Survey research helps the campus understand the perceptions and realities of…

A national survey of 186 urban public colleges and universities indicates substantial community service at almost all. Principal areas of activity and barriers to meeting this aspect of institutional mission are discussed here, and strategies to leverage resources and expand service capability are suggested. (Author/MSE)

Describes the Center for Engaged Scholarship at the University of South Florida, which operates from the premise that all scholarly work has potential applications beyond academia. Its activities help faculty to partner with community groups while also meeting the expectations of their departments and disciplines. (EV)

Urges urban institutions of higher education to utilize multiple approaches for assessing both process and outcomes in university-community partnerships. Offers a collaborative model involving the various constituents. Stresses the importance of ongoing institutional support to sustain assessment efforts, including integration of assessment of…

Inherent in the philosophy behind community outreach partnership center (COPC) programs and university-community collaboration is flexibility in instituting models, strategies, and solutions for those partnerships. However, evaluating collaborative efforts is difficult because each project differs according to needs, resources, and goals. One…

The Community Action Scholars Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee provides education and training in organizational design and leadership to grassroots organizations and neighborhood residents. Insights drawn and lessons learned about university-community collaboration during this experience have the ultimate goal of empowering…

Presents a typology of partnerships (service, exchange, cooperative, systemic/transformative) based on a philosophical analysis of trust relationships. An analysis of two major partnership projects in Virginia (the Manassas Park Educational Partnership and the Urban Alternative project at George Mason University) suggests rules and procedural…

Virginia Commonwealth University confronted shrinking resources for its urban mission by creating a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree program. The program addressed a number of challenges and was built using existing resources in the university and professional communities. Despite early financial concerns, the program now combines needed…

Higher education seems to be traveling along four change paths, each of which represents a way for the outreach function to add value to institutional capacity and identity. Theses paths are identified and compared with regard to specific outcome sought, primary means used, resource allocations, and (4) changes made in the faculty reward system.…

This article describes a three-year collaborative affiliation between the Baltimore Theatre Project and the Department of Theatre at Towson State University (Maryland). It discusses initial encounters and connections, reasons for collaboration, difficulties finding and using time, successes, difficulties, and the effects of collaboration. (JB)