Institutionalizing Community Engagement

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Institutionalizing Community Engagement

• Carl R. Lovitt
• Central Connecticut State University
• AASCU, February 2009

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The Engaged University

• Universities have a strong economic stake in the
  health of their surrounding communities
• Community engagement as problem solving (poverty,
  unemployment, affordable housing, crime, health)
• Vision of a university that is truly engaged in a
  public-benefiting mission
• Linking Colleges to Communities, Democracy
  Collaborative,
• Univ. of Maryland

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Defining Community Engagement

• Community Engagement describes the collaboration
  between higher education institutions and their
  larger communities (local, regional/state,
  national, global) for the mutually beneficial
  exchange of knowledge and resources in a context
  of partnership and reciprocity.
• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
  Teaching

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Benefits of Community Engagement

• Community Engagement may achieve the following
• Enhanced teaching and learning of relevant
  curriculum
• Expanded research and scholarship
• Preparation of engaged citizens
• Response to societal issues
• Contributions to the public good
• Strengthened civic responsibility
• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
  Teaching

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Obstacles to Community Engagement

• Internal Obstacles
• Academic traditions
• Fears and myths
• Fears about engagement
• External Obstacles
• Communities dont know how to access us
• We dont know how to communicate with them
  (importance of listening)
• Higher ed as marginalized viewed as another
  special interest

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InstitutionalizingCommunity Engagement (CE)

• Link to mission, goals, policies, and values
• The public service expected of all members of
  our community benefits our societylocal and
  globaland builds our sense of citizenship.
• CCSU will be a significant resource contributing
  to the cultural and economic development of
  Connecticut.

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InstitutionalizingCommunity Engagement (CE)

• Establish infrastructure for CE
• Office of Continuing Education and Community
  Engagement
• University and Community Task Force

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InstitutionalizingCommunity Engagement (CE)

• Integrate engagement in pedagogy and curriculum
• Link to students educational experiences and
  career preparation
• Embed engagement in capstone courses
• Offer programs in community economic development
• Emphasize community problem-solving in
  professional programs
• Adopt catalog designator or transcript notation

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InstitutionalizingCommunity Engagement (CE)

• Validate engaged scholarship
• Give scholarly work a public purpose
• Elevate value of community-based, action research
  to carry the same weight as traditional research

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InstitutionalizingCommunity Engagement (CE)

• Create incentives and rewards
• Faculty mini-grants
• Course releases
• Community-engagement focused sabbaticals
• Recognize faculty, students, partners
• Awards

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Sustaining Community Engagement

• Establish coherence of CE
• Anticipate and respond to resistance
• Invest in faculty development
• Integrate CE into hiring and orientation
• Cultivate strong community relationships
• Inventory activities and assess impact
• Use impact data for visibility and fundraising
• Pursue Carnegie Community Engagement
  Classification