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.

Stephen L. Percy directs the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and is also the chancellor's deputy for The Milwaukee Idea. He has been a campus leader in forging community-university partnerships between UWM and Milwaukee communities, including the implementation of a five-year Community Outreach Partnership Center funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development. He is co principal investigator and project director for a $3 million Carnegie Corporation grant for Teachers for a New Era and director of the Knowledge Management Component at the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management at UM. A member of the UWM faculty since 1988, he currently serves as professor of p political science and professor of urban studies with research interests focused on urban policy, organization of local governance, and policy evaluation. He is also author of numerous books and articles, including Disability, Civil Rights and Public Policy: The Politics of Implementation (University of Alabama Press, 1989), which received the Outstanding Book Award by the Gustavus Meyers Center of Human Rights in the United States. He served on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission of State and Local Relations for the 21st Century. He is a recipient of the UWM Alumni Association's Distinguished Public Service Award. Nancy L. Zimpher became the president of the University of Cincinnati in 2003, after serving for five years as chancellor of UWM. Her career also includes the deanship of the College of Education and executive deanship of the Professional colleges at The Ohio State University in Columbus. An author and editor of books on higher education and teacher education, she served as president of the Holmes Partnership from 199602001 and as a member of the Executive Board of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. She currently chairs the Commission on Internal Programs for the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grand Colleges (NASULGC) and has served as a member of the American Council on Education's Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness Commission. She serves on the boards of NASULGC and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Dr. Zimpher has participated on numerous state and regional as well as civic and community commissions and boards. She cochairs he Ohio Board of Regents' Articulation and Transfer Advisory Council and is the Inter-university Council representative to the Ohio Board of regents' Funding Commission. She has served on several statewide commissions and councils, including the Ohio Board of Regents/Ohio Board of Education Joint Council, the Wisconsin Governor's Task Force on Technical Education, and the Wisconsin State Superintendent's Blue Ribbon Commission of the Arts and Education. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education's Chief Executive Leadership Award, the Distinguished Research Award from the Association of Teacher Educators and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction State Superintendent's Friend of Education Award. She is also included in the Ohio Womens' Hall of Fame. Mary Jane Brukardt serves as associate to the president at Eastern Washington University, in Cheney, Washington, facilitating strategic planning for the university. A writer and consultant to higher education for more than two decades, she also served as senior writer for Chancellor Zimpher at UWM and was director of communications for The Milwaukee Idea. With Nancy Zimpher and Stephenn Percy she coauthored A Time for Boldness: A Story of Institutional Change (Anker, 2002). Other publications for which she has provided editorial support include Crossing Boundaries: the Urban Education Imperative (2004), a joint report from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges; A Call to Leadership: The Presidential Role in Internationalizing the University (2004), a report of the NASULGC Task Force on International Education; and Calling the Question: Is Higher Education Ready to Commit to Community Engagement? (UWM 2004), coauthored with Barbara Holland, Stephen Percy, and Nancy Zimpher. She has also edited a philanthropic journal and a two-volume history of The Johnson Foundation and Wingspread. She has received awards for print publications and web site development from the Public Relations Society of America and from the Council on Foundations.