Creating a New Kind of University: Institutionalizing Community-University Engagement

Creating a New Kind of University builds on the authors' previous book, A Time for Boldness, in its vision for creating “engaged universities”—institutions of higher education that partner with communities to solve universal problems. In order to identify critical elements of engagement and barriers to its progress, the authors begin by examining efforts made by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee toward propelling institution-wide commitments to engagement in the community. The authors then survey the state of engagement nationally and provide an overview of the scholarship on engagement.

The book presents innovative approaches to fostering successful community-university engagement efforts. It also considers implications for sustainability, such as

• How to fund partnerships between communities and universities
• Ways in which to weave engagement into the fabric of campus administration
• How college and university presidents can begin to institutionalize engagement
• Challenges in the future of university engagement

Written by a group of national leaders in higher education who believe it is time for change, Creating a New Kind of University is a call for American universities to realize their democratic promise through academically-based community service. A valuable resource for presidents, provosts, and administrative leaders, the book offers new and viable perspectives on how to move beyond ideas about engagement to real institutional change.