Document Type
Scholarship
Abstract
American universities have been engaged with their communities as long as there have been universities in America. The nature, purpose, and motivation behind that engagement have evolved. This article explores the motivation behind faculty engagement with their communities. We wanted to better understand what compels faculty to participate in and work in the community despite the many and varied barriers that might stand in their way. We explored the why and how of participation with a significant emphasis on the why. This study builds on the work of Wade and Demb[i] and their Faculty Engagement Framework (FEM) described in this paper by answering their call for a “multi-dimensional, dynamic, and holistic description of the factors that affect faculty proclivities to value. . . engagement-related activities”.[ii] Through our qualitative research, we propose that faculty engage in their communities due to various personal and professional motivations, regardless of the institutional supports and practices that universities may provide. We found, however, that without supportive institutional structures in place, universities may not be able to sustain faculty engagement in their communities.
[i] Amy Wade and Ada Demb. “A conceptual model to explore faculty community engagement.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 15, no. 2 (2009): 5-16. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3239521.0015.201.
[ii] Wade and Demb. A conceptual model, 14.
Recommended Citation
Ensminger, David C.; Hendrickson, Mitchell A.; and Schmidt, Jon J..
"“There is Just a Sense of Joy in This Work”: Drivers of Faculty Engagement with Community."
Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal Vol. 14:
No.
1
(2025)
.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15365/2164-7666.1507
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/jhe/vol14/iss1/7
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Social Justice Commons
