Individually and collectively, institutions of higher education possess considerable resources--human, fiscal, organizational, and intellectual--which are critical to addressing significant social issues. Additionally, these institutions are physically rooted in their communities. Therefore, investing in the betterment of their immediate environments is good for both the community and the institution. However, it is recognized that higher education institutions often fall short of making a real impact in their home communities. Therefore, a conference was convened to examine the current and evolving role of higher education institutions, particularly those operating within the context of coalitions, consortia and state systems, to catalyze change on issues affecting communities and society as a whole. Specifically, the focus of the conference was to develop and strengthen an understanding of how higher education might work more effectively with communities and it is believed that consortia or collaboratives of higher education institutions, along with community partners, can learn from one another. The papers offered in this monograph are the result of the Wingspread Conference on "Higher Education Collaboratives for Community Engagement and Improvement", conducted on October 27-29, 2004, in Racine, Wisconsin. The conference, the second of a three-part series, was sponsored by the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good at the University of Michigan School of Education, the Johnson Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The papers presented in this monograph are: (1) Reflections on Community-Campus Partnerships: What Has Been Learned? What are the Next Challenges? (Barbara A. Holland); (2) Reflections on the Wingspread Experience (Bruce L. Mallory); (3) Higher Education Collaboratives for Community Engagement and Improvement: Faculty and Researchers' Perspectives (Ira Harkavy); (4) Challenges to Community-Higher Education Partnerships: A Call to Action (David Cox and Sarena Seifer); (5) Mission and Community: The Culture of Community Engagement and Minority Serving Institutions (Maurice C. Taylor, Brighid Dwyer, and Sandra Pacheco); (6) Research Universities Working Together to Serve Multiple Communities: The Committee on Institutional Cooperation Engagement Initiative (John C. Burkhardt and Rachel Lewis); and (7) Partnering with the Old North State (Judith Welch Wegner). "Partnerships for Engagement Futures", an introduction by Ryan E. Smerek, Penny A. Pasque, Bruce Mallory, and Barbara A. Holland, is included. Individual papers contain tables, footnotes, and references.