Engaging Campus and Community: The Practice of Public Scholarship in the State and Land-Grant University System - Softcover

Scott J. Peters

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0923993150 ISBN 13: 9780923993153

Publisher: Kettering Foundation Press, 2005

Synopsis

Neither a glorified form of service nor an add-on to the traditional purposes of universities, the public scholarship described in Engaging Campus and Community is--or should be--the heart and soul of academic work. Public scholarship integrates the tripartite university mission of research, teaching, and service to foster democracy, community, and deep learning among faculty, other university staff, students, and community members external to the university. Thoughtfully articulated case studies illustrate how theoretical and practical knowledge can be developed and shared through meaningful and respectful communication among all partners involved in a public scholarship effort. Comparing the several public scholarship cases, the editors derive lessons about how to foster public scholarship that can be applied at many types of higher education institutions, including the land-grant universities that are the focus of this analysis.

About this title

About the Author

Scott Peters is an associate professor of education at Cornell University. His latest book is Democracy and Higher Education: Traditions and Stories of Civic Engagement (Michigan State University Press, 2010).

From the Back Cover

"This is a wonderful work, in my judgment the single best treatment of the theory and practice of public scholarship. It brings to light hidden, remarkable public work of a group of scholars in land-grant universities who have worked, often for years, in creative partnerships with citizens to solve problems, improve food systems, and build democratic communities. It also does more. By brilliantly drawing out general theoretical lessons of this work for scholarship and public engagement in higher education, Engaging Campus and Community uses case studies related to agriculture and food systems sustainability to suggest new possibilities for pursuing a democratic way of life in an era when vast economic and technological changes are threatening democratic culture on every front."

--HARRY C. BOYTE, Founder and Co-Director, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, University of Minnesota

From the Inside Flap

"In pages that exude conviction, passion, and energy--the very ingredients of any engagement effort worth pursuing--Scott Peters and his colleagues upshift the scholarship of engagement by enabling deep understanding of this work in its complexity. You'll find evocative self-portraits about work "in the trenches" that are as rich in description as they are in self-reflection and critique. These case experiences are framed by a compelling ethos of engagement: how campus and community collaborations can enhance the quality of democratic life. By framing engagement that way, the co-authors are explicit about their answer to a fundamental (and sometimes unanswered) question: Engagement for what? And by writing this volume as a learning community, the co-authors give readers a concrete example of how discourse among scholar-practitioners can advance the engagement state of the art. This thoughtfully prepared book is a must-read for participating intelligently in the engagement movement."

--FRANK FEAR, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University

Edition details

• Publisher: Kettering Foundation Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0923993150
• ISBN 13: 9780923993153
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 499
• Editor: Nicholas R. Jordan, Margaret Adamek, Theodor R. Alter