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Studying the Professional Lives and Work of Faculty Involved in Community Engagement

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Abstract

Community engagement is one of the major innovations that has occurred in higher education over the last 20 years. At the center of this innovation are faculty members because of their intimate ties to the academic mission. This article examines the progress that has been made in understanding this critical area of faculty work. It builds on past research to consider how the conceptualization of faculty community engagement influences the kinds of questions we ask about it and the kinds of recruitment, support, and professional growth we provide. Implications of the study and for the practice of faculty community engagement are provided for researchers, administrators, and faculty members.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education Leadership, Higher Education, and International Education, University of Maryland, College Park, 2202 Benjamin Building, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USA

    KerryAnn O’Meara

  2. Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy, The University of Georgia, 413 River’s Crossing, 850 College Station Rd., Athens, GA, 20602, USA

    Lorilee R. Sandmann

  3. Department of Leadership in Education and the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA, 02125, USA

    John Saltmarsh

  4. Higher Education Administration and the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, University of Massachusetts, Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA, 02125, USA

    Dwight E. Giles Jr.

Authors
  1. KerryAnn O’Meara
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  2. Lorilee R. Sandmann
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  4. Dwight E. Giles Jr.
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Correspondence to KerryAnn O’Meara.

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O’Meara, K., Sandmann, L.R., Saltmarsh, J. et al. Studying the Professional Lives and Work of Faculty Involved in Community Engagement. Innov High Educ 36, 83–96 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-010-9159-3

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