University-community engagement is increasingly emphasized at institutions throughout the United States, yet there remains concern and confusion about how to conceptualize community engagement to provide benefits for both the university and the public. This article summarizes the history of community engagement and describes dominant paradigms of…

Historically, America's land-grant universities offered non-elites access to higher education while developing and disseminating new, practical knowledge (particularly agricultural science). In the late twentieth century, the historic land-grant mission was eclipsed by other institutional concerns. Efforts now are under way around the country to…