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Dissertation Overviews

Vol. 18 No. 3

The Tie That Binds: Leadership and Liberal Arts Institutions' Civic Engagement Commitment in Rural Communities

Submitted
September 26, 2014
Published
2014-09-26

Abstract

Community boundary spanners create ties that bind the campus and its surrounding region for reciprocal relationships. Using community boundary spanning literature as a conceptual framework, this study went beyond existing research on public and 4-year comprehensive universities to examine how university leadership at rural, private liberal arts institutions can more deeply integrate civic engagement into institutional priorities and be more responsive to community needs. A qualitative multicase study was conducted to explore how leaders of rural, private liberal arts institutions and their community partners view civic engagement relative to the college’s mission. The study examined university leaders’ and community stakeholders’ perceptions of civic engagement at 5 liberal arts institutions in the Bonner Scholars Program network. The conceptual framework in Weerts (2005) and Weerts and Sandmann (2010)  was developed into a foundation for university leaders at liberal arts institutions to embed and develop community engagement into their institutions’ culture and ethos.