The authors provide a framework for understanding the process of legitimation and the status of legitimacy as it applies to civic engagement and community-based initiatives. They apply their own case study experience with a social circus organization as an example of how legitimation occurs during the practice of civic engagement. The authors…

This is a case study of how a capstone course, Producing and Directing, evolved into a service-learning course designed to provide graduating students with real-world workplace experience. It will examine issues including course structure, grading issues, course and client logistics, unaddressed skill sets, group work, and work-product quality…

The role of individual faculty in community service at institutions of higher education has been less studied due to its association with personal volunteer work. This paper suggests that such service should be viewed as an integral part of engagement, particularly when it contributes to positive change and problem resolution in urban communities.…

This article examines an important policy initiative that creates self-sustaining partnerships among community stakeholders, including academic institutions. The Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) model of collaborative problem-solving (CPS) builds community capacity and knowledge while addressing the challenges of toxic pollution…

Universities are uniquely positioned to lead society toward sustainability and their collaborations with community organizations are essential to this transition. The Biodiesel Program at Loyola University at Chicago Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy provides a case study of course-based service learning projects facilitating…

The authors provide a case study of their own experience teaching Environmental Entrepreneurship. For the past six years, they have been teaching about sustainability through social entrepreneurship in an interdisciplinary partnership with faculty in management, engineering, and earth science. The authors have developed a course in Environmental…

As more and more institutions look outside the campus walls for opportunities to serve their surrounding communities, a need has grown for guidance in developing true partnerships. There is no template that can be applied to campus-community partnerships. Each situation will be different and require different strategies, but a look at some basic…

We present a case study of how our College has risen to the challenge brought about by the unintended consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act. We describe the steps in our journey, including framing research questions responsive to community needs, providing support for faculty to embrace "engaged" scholarship, and working with lawmakers to…

This paper examines a study of the wastewater collection and treatment issues of Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas by University of Arkansas at Little Rock personnel and how it constitutes dialogic public relations. The paper defines dialogic public relations using Kent and Taylor's work and then uses their criteria to describe how this…

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has undertaken numerous initiatives over the past fifteen years that have contributed to the development, clarification, and increased understanding of civic engagement and its related components. This case study demonstrates how advancing the public purposes of higher education requires…

During the past decade, leaders of university engagement have strived to create reciprocal relationships between their campuses and the external partners they serve. Relying on a knowledge flow theoretical framework, this article examines the concept of university engagement in the context of school-university partnerships. Challenges and…

Embedding community engagement into the fabric of the university requires a well articulated strategic vision. This article shares lessons learned by the president of a comprehensive research university, focusing primarily on two case studies, both urban institutions. The article discusses two strategic planning processes-one at the University of…

Expanding the role of public engagement, service, and outreach in the promotion and tenure process entails changing the values embedded in the campus culture. This case study of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign illustrates that incremental changes can eventually lead to a campus culture supportive of public engagement. Critical to…

"Active learning" where students are required to do something in the classroom rather than simply listen to a lecture has been repeatedly shown to be superior to the lecture method in advancing student learning. The use of case studies in the classroom is one of the most successful active learning methods of teaching science, technology,…

Presents two case studies of higher education institutions undergoing change to illustrate how institutional culture affects the change process. Introduces the mobile model of change that guides transformation efforts in urban institutions while remaining sensitive to their institutional context and culture. The framework is based on a five-year…