Exploring Equitable Community-campus Relationships

This volume offers replicable approaches for centering equity as a core value in community–campus relationships.

Through interrogation of contemporary practice, chapter authors examine the many ways in which equity is deliberately centered in community relationships, practices, research, and pedagogies, thereby accounting for how equity is defined, perceived, and shaped across diverse cultures, perspectives, and institutions. With a focus on relationship-building as a pathway to meaningful community engagement, contributors reflect on successes, obstacles, and moments of vulnerability, describing how relationships were initiated and lessons learned to ensure equitable values were centered and upheld. The text concludes with a meaningful discussion on the implications of these practices and the future of this work: equity continues to be a foundational element of any community–campus partnership.

This book will be an essential resource for academics and communities alike, particularly community partners, graduate students, scholars, and faculty who seek to center equity within their community-engaged work.

Karla Bird is Tribal Outreach/Relations Specialist at the University of Montana.

Suchitra V. Gururaj is the inaugural Assistant Vice President for Community and Economic Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.

Sara B. Moore is Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology at Salem State University.

Andrea Robles is a sociologist at the Office of Research and Evaluation at AmeriCorps.

Cindy Vincent Claar is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Communication at Boston University.