Engaged Scholarship

  1. College of Education
  2. Center for Social Transformation and Leadership
  3. Engaged Scholarship

Community Engaged Scholarship

Definitions of "Community” and “engagement” are two frequently used words that can mean different things to different people. Seattle University has thought critically about community engagement in a variety of contexts, including community-engaged scholarship, community-engaged research, community-engaged teaching, and community-engaged service in light of our Jesuit and Catholic mission. 

The following definitions were developed to inform faculty discourse and are contextualized and, therefore, shaped by the P&T guidelines developed and adopted by the institutions. 

Community Engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education 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, 2006). 

Engagement at Seattle University occurs when a faculty, staff, or student's research, teaching, or service activities significantly engages their scholarly expertise with communities outside of the university with the direct goal of improving outcomes for those who live and work in them. 

Engagement between members of Seattle University and communities can take many forms ranging from one-directional outreach to engaged scholarship. 

Engagement involves mutually beneficial, reciprocal partnerships between members of the university and members of the community. It reflects a two-way relationship that leverages university knowledge and resources with the knowledge and experiences of the community. In an ideal scenario, the process helps create new knowledge that benefits both the university and the community or the general public. 

Community Engaged Scholarship is a form of scholarship that involves mutually beneficial partnerships between the community and Seattle University for the purpose of addressing a community need or larger societal challenge. Faculty apply their disciplinary knowledge to the issue – whether through teaching, research, creative activity, or service – and leverage it with the knowledge and experiences of the community partner. Through this process, they co-create new knowledge that benefits scholarship and communities alike.

As engaged scholars and leaders, we believe that community engagement in higher education is not an "add-on" but a fundamental part of the knowledge enterprise. It is both the purpose of scholarship and the path to scholarship. In all initiatives, we are collectively committed to the following standards of practice, established by the Center advisory committee in 2019 and grounded in the Campus Compact Principles of Good Practice. (Heffernan, 2001) 

  • Initiatives address a real, community-identified need 
  • Initiatives are scholarly activity 
  • The campus-community partnership is a reciprocal relationship and are intended to be sustainable
  • Students and faculty are prepared for responsible engagement
  • Students and faculty engage in on-going reflection and meaning-making
  • Scholarship is disseminated for public benefit 

 

Engaged Scholarship Resources, Training and Education

At the Seattle University Center for Social Transformation and Leadership, we offer an array of resources aimed at bolstering community-engaged scholarship initiatives and fostering the professional growth and progress of dedicated scholars and leaders, both within our institution and across broader community networks. Our offerings include comprehensive training programs and educational opportunities designed to empower and support engaged scholars, leaders and advocates in their endeavors. 

Resources for Community-Based Collaborating Scholars and Leaders

Books and Chapters

  • Beere, C. A., Votruba, J. C., & Wells, G. W. (2011). Becoming an Engaged Campus" A practical guide fro institutionalizing public engagement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 
  • Benneworth, P. (Ed.). (2012). University engagement with socially excluded communities. Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag.
  • Blanchard, L., & Furco, A. (2021). Faculty Engaged Scholarship: Setting Standards and Building Conceptual Clarity. The Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship. https://doi.org/10.17615/0xj1-c495
  • Boyer, E. (1997). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate (1st ed. ed., A special report). Princeton, N.J.: Carnegie Foundation for the A dvancement of Teaching. Accessed October 31, 2017.
  • Fitzgerald, H. E., Burack, C., & Seifer, S. D. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of engaged scholarship: Contemporary landscapes, future directions, Volume 1: Institutional Change. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.
  • Glassick, C., Huber, M., Maeroff, G., Boyer, E., & Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (1997). Scholarship Assessed:
  • Evaluation of the Professoriate. (1st ed. ed., A special report). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Accessed October 31, 2017.
  • Evans, S. Y., Taylor, C. M., Dunlap, M. R., & Miller, D. S. (Eds.). (2009). African Americans and community engagement in higher education: Community service, service-learning, and community-based research. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  • Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land Grant Universities. (1999). Returning to our roots: The engaged institution. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=183
  • Kezar, A. J., Chambers, A. C., & Burkhardt, J. (2005). Higher education for the public good: Emerging voices from a national movement (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • London, S. (2002). The civic mission of higher education: From outreach to engagement (Report No. 9990). Dayton, OH: Kettering Foundation.
  • Riccio, R., Berkey, B., & Mecangi, G. (2021). Principles of Anti-Oppressive Community Engagement for University Educators and Researchers. Boston, MA: Northeastern University. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://cssh.northeastern.edu/impactlab/sil-principles-for-ethical- community-engaged-teaching-research
  • Saltmarsh, J., & Hartley, M. (Eds.). (2011). "To serve a larger purpose": Engagement for democracy and the transformation of higher education. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
  • Sandmann, L. R., Thornton, C. H., Jaeger, A. J., & Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Eds.). (2009). Institutionalizing community engagement in higher education: The first wave of Carnegie classified institutions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Van de Ven, A. H. (2007). Engaged scholarship: A guide for organizational and social research. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.

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