The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good, along with the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE), American College Personnel Association (ACPA), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Association for Institutional Research (AIR), and Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), have committed themselves to encourage a new generation of scholars interested in examining the changing relationship between higher education and U.S. society. These national associations joined together to sponsor five Rising Scholar awards in July, 2002, given to pre-tenured faculty, early career practitioners, and advanced graduate students engaged in research that explored higher education's role in serving the public good. The award was a part of a larger initiative, which focused on advancing research on the relationship between higher education and society through connecting senior and early career scholars. As part of the Rising Scholar award, recipients were asked to publish their research in this monograph as a way to continue dialogue with other scholars interested in issues related to higher education and the public good. The papers presented in this monograph are: (1) Climbing Up and Over the Ivy: Examining the Experiences of American Indian Ivy League Graduates (Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy); (2) "To Share With All": Vida Scudder's Educational Work in the Settlements (Julia Garbus); (3) College Graduates' Perspectives on the Effect of Capstone Service-Learning Courses (Seanna M. Kerrigan); (4) Low-Income Communities: Technological Strategies for Nurturing Community, Empowerment and Self-Sufficiency at a Low-Income Housing Development (Richard L. O'Bryant); and (5) Toward the Engaged Institution: Rhetoric, Practice, and Validation (David J. Weerts). Individual papers contain tables, figures, footnotes, and references.