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The keys to university–community engagement sustainability
Author(s) -
Clifford David,
Petrescu Claudia
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
nonprofit management and leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.844
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1542-7854
pISSN - 1048-6682
DOI - 10.1002/nml.21051
Subject(s) - sustainability , community engagement , sociology , identity (music) , public relations , dimension (graph theory) , politics , community building , power (physics) , resource (disambiguation) , knowledge management , business , political science , computer science , ecology , computer network , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , acoustics , pure mathematics , law , biology
Abstract For universities to create beneficial and sustainable engagement with the community requires attention to three dimensions: internal (politics, organizational dynamics, and culture interior to the university); external (relationships and dynamics of the community, management of power and resource imbalances, and development of a community identity); and personal (the psychology, competencies, and career issues of the faculty). Sustainable types of engagement are those that lead to valued capacity building for the community and positively address each dimension. We offer illustrations of the challenges and strategies for building successful university–community relationships.