Digital Commons Network^™

Maximizing Civic Learning And Social Responsibility, Arthur Chickering

Higher Education

In August 1999, the Presidents' Fourth of July Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education, drafted by a select group of scholars and college presidents that was convened by Campus Compact and the American Council on Education (ACE), hit the streets. It said,

"We have a fundamental task to renew our role as agents of our democracy. This task is both urgent and long-term. There is growing evidence of disengagement of many Americans from the communal life of our society, in general, and from the responsibilities of democracy in particular. We share a special concern about the disengagement of …

The Dynamic Tensions Of Service Learning In Higher Education: A Philosophical Perspective, Adrianna Kezar, Robert A. Rhoads

Higher Education

Senior faculty in a peace and justice program at a small liberal arts college reject the efforts of a student affairs professional to help the faculty connect their teaching to practice through service activities in the local community. One faculty member openly wonders how "out-of-class" activities such as community service have anything to do with interdisciplinary theories of social justice. A director of an office of community service is upset because the provost has decided to develop a Center for Community Service Learning. The director sees this as an attempt to usurp the good work of student affairs and feels …

Renewing The Civic Mission Of The American Research University, Barry Checkoway

Higher Education

Should the American research university have a strategy for renewing its civic mission in a diverse democratic society and, if so, what should it be?

Many American research universities were established with a civic mission to prepare students for active participation in a diverse democracy and to develop knowledge for the improvement of communities. Today, however, it is hard to find top administrators with consistent commitment to this mission, few faculty members consider it central to their role, and community groups that approach the university for assistance often find it difficult to get what they need.

The Bridging Role Of The Community Service Director On The Engaged Campus, Joann Campbell

Higher Education

Declines in civic participation, low voting rates among 18-25 year olds, dwindling federal support for social services, and deficit state budgets have created a climate in which higher education must make a case for the value it adds to society through applications of research and teaching. National and state organizations (such as Campus Compact and state Compacts) dedicated to supporting a culture of service in higher education articulate the university's role as a collective citizen, whose priorities include linking scholarship to community-based needs, using the resources of the college faculty for professional local service, and utilizing federal work study, America …