Portland State University's (PSU) reputation as an engaged, urban-serving university continues to distinguish it both nationally and locally. Key partnerships with local, public, and private partners provide students, faculty, and staff with remarkable opportunities to contribute to the physical, social, and economic development of the Portland…

Colleges and universities have long recognized the need to address inequities affecting students from underrepresented or underserved groups. Despite efforts undertaken by dedicated individuals, large-scale, national change in this area has not been realized. In this article, we address two major factors underlying this disappointing result (the…

Growing numbers of presidents and senior administrators have come to understand the value of having a robust public scholarship agenda as part of their institutional vision. Yet, ever-shrinking resources can make engaged scholarship seem like a risky proposition for young faculty members. What does it take to get them to leave the high ground of…

In the past twenty years, much research has been conducted into the effects of community-based learning and service-learning on students, but studies into the long-term impacts that persist after graduation have been fewer in number. In this article, the authors share perspectives from Portland State University alumni on the lasting significance…

This article describes the development and ongoing operations of the GreenEriePA.org project, a portal to all things environmental in Erie County, PA. Through regular input from community partners, GreenEriePA turned into a much larger, long-term project than the faculty coordinators at Gannon University, Erie, PA, originally anticipated. We…

The idea that social relations can aggregate into social capital has intuitive appeal that scholars are finding useful as they seek to explain variations in community outcomes. This article suggests that it may be time for metropolitan university administrators to begin thinking beyond community relations or community engagement as they seek to…

Hotel Louisville is owned and operated by Wayside Christian Mission and is staffed by screened and vetted Wayside resident clients. This unique situation, along with the University of Louisville (UofL) partnership, positions both as national exemplars for authentic community involvement with higher education. The purpose of this article is to…

Institutions are increasingly being called upon to collect large amounts of data to demonstrate community impact. At institutions with strong and wide-reaching public engagement/service missions, this expectation is even greater--both for quality improvement and for demonstrating regional transformation. Despite these expectations, the…

This 2010 winner of the Ernest A. Lynton Award examines two social justice themes that have emerged in his community-engaged work. He argues that the traditional model of the development of the scholars' research agenda is one that can promote and maintain the academy-community hierarchy and that the scholars' social identities play an important…

The Downtown Education Collaborative (DEC) is an innovative collaborative which includes public and private colleges working with community organizations in interdisciplinary community service learning. This article reviews DEC's development, from its inception as a shared vision aspired to by its partners, to a functioning collaborative. We…

This article profiles a partnership between the Living Cully ecodistrict and Portland State University's Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative. The case studies presented in this article explore how Living Cully leveraged PSU assets to advance their goals, highlighting successes and lessons learned. This article also addresses how the partnership…

As part of a Community Service-Learning Faculty Scholars Program, University of San Diego business faculty members created community engagement projects that connected students with the local community, exposed them to the realities of a global business world and showed the inherent value of community engagement. By utilizing service-learning and…

Central to the urban university's academic mission is supporting scholarship that expands knowledge and "service to the state" and local region. Documenting local history is an aspect of scholarship that supports the community directly. This manuscript addresses the role of the urban university in collaborating with community…

The University of Central Oklahoma's new strategic plan sought to increase its connection to the emerging Hispanic community in Oklahoma City. Simultaneously, the Greater Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was seeking a higher education partner. This case study describes resulting new programs for Hispanic students and businesses. The…

The Volunteer Program Assessment at UNO (VPA-UNO), a faculty-led student group, partners with nonprofit and governmental agencies to provide free assessments and consultations to enhance volunteer engagement, organizational commitment and retention. Three recent initiatives are discussed representing an intentional effort of a metropolitan…