Started in 1998, the Whisenton Public Scholars program is a collaboration of Joffre T. Whisenton and Associates, the Kettering Foundation, and participating higher education professionals. The program works primarily with faculty and administrators from schools with a mission to serve minority communities (such as historically black colleges and…

Academic and public libraries are facing the challenge of finding new avenues of service and of creating value for their constituencies. This value is in the form of outcomes that result in bettering the people who use libraries and the community at large. The authors feel that librarians must find creative ways to make their communities better…

In this article, the author talks about incorporating what those in academia do best--scholarship and teaching--and what government bureaucrats do best in administering housing and community revitalization programs into a strong and sustainable system of community engagement and outreach. He frames the discussion by focusing on some examples of…

This paper describes a 2-hour training session that presented current research on the efficacy of online teaching, as well as practical steps in converting traditional classroom materials in education for asynchronous learning. The presentation focused on three areas in particular: (1) recent research on the efficacy of online courses; (2) the…

Describes the development of a new transformational vision for Albion College in Michigan, which led to a community envisioning process off campus. The result was a new city-college partnership designed to promote the development of the city of Albion as "The Smart Community." (EV)

The "pining" for a sense of community, for roots, for a connectedness to others is a basic need that is felt but not understood, that is desired but not practiced, in either college settings or the greater society. Thus, the prevalent rootlessness and transience that students arrive with at college (due to a highly mobile society) is never…

Asserting that exploration of the role of higher education in community building is not unique to the United States, describes examples of collaborative efforts involving universities and communities working together in the United States, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, and Mexico. (EV)

There is a growing interest among organizations in identifying and nurturing Communities of Practice. Delineating what is and what is not a Community of Practice (CoP) is not a clear-cut task. One specific area of difficulty is distinguishing between a team and a CoP. Because there are strong similarities between the two, it is often helpful to…

A case study analyzed a special event, AmeriFlora '92, held from April 1992 to October 1992 in Columbus, Ohio. AmeriFlora '92 was established as a temporary organization covering nearly 8 years of planning, operations, and dismantling. The lack of attendance and the resulting financial impact inspired a major effort to examine the role of public…

Notes changes in the social contract between society and land grant universities and resulting implications for rural sociology's research, teaching, and extension agenda. Traces the legislative, academic, and social contexts of these changes. Suggests new organizational and networking strategies for rural sociology that will foster new…

This paper addresses the question, "What is the relationship of communications--in the sense of technology of information--and community?" The answer is the Internet. Public relations educators must teach students and practitioners how to best use the Internet to enhance public relations community-building. The implications of today's Internet are…

This paper discusses the development and evolution of the University of Maryland's UniversityCenter in downtown Baltimore since its conception in 1991. UniversityCenter is a geographic location, one of six downtown districts that resulted from Baltimore's latest development plan. It contains not only the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus,…

The pedagogical triangle of teacher, learner, and subject matter has in its center a fourth element: the communication system. Each feature of the pedagogical triangle, and the communication system as well, relies on a very important cultural component. Problems occur when communication processes in a classroom are fragmented and related to…

A dynamic community economic development and education process has emerged in Missouri. This effort is bringing about changed awareness and attitudes as well as developing skills and community self-help actions as a result of collaboration between communities, Extension specialists, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. One of the institutions…

This paper contrasts two types of university partnerships: first, the Colorado Partnership for Educational Renewal (CoPER), between six higher education institutions and 12 school districts in Colorado; and, second, 10 separate community-university partnerships (CUP). Each CUP was based on an asset (as opposed to a deficit) model and developed and…