Civic Engagement

Publications in Higher Education

Scholarship in Public: Knowledge Creation and Tenure Policy in the Engaged University (2008)
A report from Imagining America, Scholarship in Public: Knowledge Creation and Tenure Policy in the Engaged University, proposes “concrete ways to remove obstacles to academic work carried out for and/or with the public by giving such work full standing as scholarship, research, or artistic creation.”  Emerging from the work of the Tenure Team Initiative, among whose 19 esteemed members are AAC&U President Carol Schneider and AAC&U Senior Scholar R. Eugene Rice, the report is a toolkit for those eager to change the culture surrounding promotion and tenure in the “new academy.”  See more information about Imagining America and AAC&U faculty resources.

Still Serving: Measuring the Eight-Year Impact of AmeriCorps on Alumni
(2008)
Results from a rigorous evaluation of AmeriCorps show that AmeriCorps has long-term impacts on members’ years after they serve.  Over the last eight years, since 1999, we have been following more than 2,000 individuals in AmeriCorps State and National and NCCC to look at the effect of service on their future civic engagement and volunteering, employment and careers, and educational attainment.  Findings reveal that AmeriCorps is a pipeline to careers in public service and creates civic leaders who continue to serve in their communities long after their service has been completed.

The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear
This book is a response to the political despair and fatalism that author Paul Loeb has encountered in the process of speaking at campuses and conferences throughout the country—the sense students keep expressing, that their voices and efforts don't count. The essays in this book inspire hope by showing what keeps people keeping on—even when the odds seem overwhelming. The Impossible is a powerful classroom resource that will help inspire your students to act. Excerpts, advance reviews, links to classroom study questions, and academic exam copy info are available online.

Educating Citizens
Educating Citizens, By Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizabeth Beaumont, and Jason Stephens, reports on how some American colleges and universities are preparing thoughtful, committed, and socially responsible graduates. Many institutions assert these ambitions, but too few act on them. The authors demonstrate the fundamental importance of moral and civic education, describe how the historical and contemporary landscapes of higher education have shaped it, and explain the educational and developmental goals and processes involved in educating citizens. They examine the challenges colleges and universities face when they dedicate themselves to this vital task and present concrete ways to overcome those challenges.

The Religious Roots of American Democracy
What might a philosopher have to tell us about American democracy in the 21st century? Jacob Needleman became an acclaimed philosopher of contemporary America over six decades writing books on things like time, the cosmos, love, and money. Then he turned his attention to what he calls the meaning of America. He got inside the spiritual sensibility of the founders and uncovered subtleties of familiar patriotic sentiments. For example, our "inalienable rights" were inseparable from duties. The "pursuit of happiness" was linked with virtue. And democracy was not simply a set of external structures, but inward work on one's character, spirit, and intellect. Needleman found a profound sense of spirituality at the root of our Democratic ideals.

Contributing to the Civic Good: Assessing and Accounting for the Civic Contributions of Higher Education, by Jane Wellman
This working paper of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) examines the ways in which higher education serves the larger public good, focusing on how colleges and universities assess and account for their service to society. Prepared by Jane Wellman, Senior Associate at the Institute, the paper discusses how and why higher education's civic contributions are not adequately accounted for in the public policy dialogue. The paper presents strategies for building assessment and accountability capacities for the civic roles of higher education. The entire document is available online in pdf format.

Presidents' Fourth of July Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education
Drafted by Thomas Ehrlich, senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and president emeritus of Indiana University, and Elizabeth Hollander, executive director of Campus Compact, with the advice and input of a Presidents' Leadership Colloquium Committee, this statement articulates higher education's commitment to public purposes and democratic ideals, and challenges all types of colleges and universities to become engaged with their communities. The document was reviewed, refined and endorsed at a Presidents' Leadership Colloquium convened by Campus Compact and the American Council on Education at the summer 1999 Aspen Institute.

Wingspread Declaration
Prepared by Elizabeth Hollander, Executive Director of Campus Compact, Barry Checkoway, Professor and Director of the University of Michigan Center for Community Service and Learning, and Stanley Ikenberry, President of the American Council of Education, and redrafted by Liz Hollander and Harry Boyte of the University of Minnesota, The Wingspread Declaration is a discussion paper originally drafted for the December 1998 Wingspread Meeting on the Civic Responsibility of Research Universities that describes the civic behaviours that would characterize a research university serious about its civic responsibility. The document addresses the development of student citizenship skills; faculty engagement through professional service, pedagogy, and community-based or applied research; and institutional leadership in and with the community. The Wingspread conference, which aimed to create workable and concrete strategies for reinvigorating the civic mission of research universities, was sponsored by AAC&U, AAU, AAHE, ACE, Campus Compact, NERCHE and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Community Partnerships.

Listening to Communities
Listening to Communities was developed by the American Council on Education (ACE) to explore with local communities perceptions on what higher education can and should do on matters of civic life. It is a part of ACE's multi-phase project, the Forum on Higher Education and Democracy. Through a series of regional forums in 1999, Listening to Communities has invited diverse community, civic, business, philanthropic, religious, government, and educational leaders to share with leaders of local colleges and universities their views on how higher education can best fulfill its role as educator of future civic leaders and partner in collectively solving community problems. The project, directed by Nancy Thomas, will publish a resource guide to provide a model for how colleges and universities might hold similar forums with their communities.

Models for Democracy
This web site is a project of the Society for Values in Higher Education's (SVHE) new initiative called "Models for Democracy: Strengthening Higher Education for Civic Responsibility and Social Justice." Supported by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, this pilot project is designed to develop and test model tools that representatives of colleges and universities can employ to foster education for a more just and effective democracy. Models for Democracy will engage colleges and universities in assessment, reflection, dialogue, and action to support teaching and learning for principled and responsible students.

Citizenship Education Declines along with Civic Activity: 9/11 and 11/11 Should Spark State Action
Denver, CO — Like September 11, November 11, 2003, brings to mind lives lost and acts of heroism because it marks the 50th anniversary of Veterans Day. It also should serve as a catalyst to increase citizenship education among [K-12] students.

Public Work and the Academy: An Academic Administrator’s Guide to Civic Engagement and Service-Learning
Edited by Mark Langseth & William M. Plater, this is the first in a series of joint publications from Campus Compact and Anker Publishing Company. Public Work and the Academy provides academic leaders with a resource to increase their fluency with and ability to lead service-learning and civic engagement efforts on their campuses, with their peers, and throughout higher education. It is written specifically for academic leaders—chief academic officers, provosts, deans, and division and department chairs—who have significant responsibility for their campus’s academic programs. Offering a wide variety of topics and case studies, as well as a resources section of helpful publications, web sites, consultants, and networks, this book allows readers to focus on the specific issues and types of institutions most applicable to them.