Qualitative case study research was conducted to examine and describe the public engagement practices of community college trustees. This case study examines and describes the public engagement practices of public community college trustees. The research focuses on community college trustees' public engagement perceptions within five categories: (a) roles and responsibilities, (b) definition of public engagement, (c) public engagement practices, (d) barriers to public engagement, and (e) how to make public engagement more effective. The three key conclusions of this study are (a) trustees do not identify deliberative public engagement as a role priority or a default priority; (b) the role of trustees must be reframed and redefined to include democratic public engagement practices; and (c) the public's role in democratic governance must be reclaimed. The results of study also emerged within five major thematic areas, which have implications for theory and practice--(a) trustee roles, (b) trustee relationships with the public, (c) administrative and organizational structures, (d) leadership, and (e) policy. Some of the more specific findings from the study within these areas include: (1) Trustees identified serving and representing the community's interests as their role; this role has been performed with minimal meaningful contact with the community; (2) Trustees had no common nomenclature for the public, constituents, stakeholders, community, public engagement or public participation; (3) Trustee governance has not focused on public engagement in its relationship with the public; (4) Trustees' engagement practices are influenced by a priori assumptions about the public and public participation; and (5) Trustees have no public engagement policy or framework linked to establishing policy or decision making. Nine appendixes are included: (1) Project Summary; (2) Research Consent Form; (3) Letter for NIFI [National Issues Forums Institute] Network Community College Trustees; (4) Letter for NIFI Network Community college Public Policy Institute Director; (5) Debriefing Letter; (6) Cast Study Standardized Open-ended Interview Questions; (7) Case Data Collection Display; (8) Case Study Institutional Profiles; and (9) Institutional Review Board Approval. (Contains 15 tables and 4 figures.)