Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Reflective Essays

Vol. 18 No. 1

Linking Academic and Community Guidelines for Community-Engaged Scholarship

  • Robin Maria DeLugan
  • Stergios Roussos
  • Geneva Skram
Submitted
March 31, 2014
Published
2014-03-31

Abstract

Research universities seeking to promote community-engaged scholarship (CES), defined here as research of mutual benefit to community and academic interests, will discover that it requires capacity building and institutional support. At the University of California at Merced, our 7-year experience in building a new public research university that integrates CES into the fabric of the campus has benefited from the lessons of pioneers in the field. We have also gained valuable experiences that can serve those who wish to integrate CES into their research and problem-solving activities. In this article, we extend Blanchard et al.’s (2009) useful guide for faculty development in CES. By adding reference to the competencies that can guide community participation in and support of CES, the expanded guide encompasses both academic and community interests and highlights best practices necessary for supporting CES in our universities and communities.