Dedication to Community Engagement: A Higher Education Conundrum?

• Main Authors: Nicole Nicotera (Author), Nick Cutforth (Author), Eric Fretz (Author), Sheila Summers Thompson (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: The University of Alabama, 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.54656/SPEA6513; 1944-1207; 2837-8075
• Keywords: Education; L; Communities. Classes. Races; HT51-1595
• Source: Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, Vol 4, Iss 1 (2022)

Universities and colleges are increasingly providing internal grants to encourage faculty and staff involvement in community-based research and service-learning projects; however, little attention has been given to the impact of institutional support of these efforts. This qualitative study employed focus group interviews with 17 faculty and staff at one mid-size private research university (high activity) to explore the impact of institutional funding on their professional roles and practice of community-engaged work. Findings revealed that community-based projects energized the participants, helped them make their academic work relevant in communities, created formal and informal university-community partnerships, and elevated the University's public image. However, a conundrum was evident in the tension between the University's public expression of the importance of community engagement and participants' concerns that the traditional academic reward structure could jeopardize their long-term commitment to community work. A framework is offered that may assist institutions that are pondering or have already committed to using institutional dollars to support engaged scholarship.