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Engaging Departments Across the Nation Moving Faculty Culture toward Collective Focus for the Common Good

This afternoon we will:. Set engaged department work in the context of institutional changeExplore an engaged department frameworkConsider research findings and lessons learned from a national writing projectVisit engaged departments in actionDiscuss exemplars, concerns, plans and future researc

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Engaging Departments Across the Nation Moving Faculty Culture toward Collective Focus for the Common Good

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    1. Engaging Departments Across the Nation Moving Faculty Culture toward Collective Focus for the Common Good Kevin Kecskes, Director Community-University Partnerships Portland State University (kecskesk@pdx.edu) John Saltmarsh, Director New England Resource Center for Higher Education Graduate College of Education University of Massachusetts, Boston Susan Agre-Kippenhan, Dean College of Arts & Architecture Montana State University Cynthia Neal Spence Associate Professor Department of Sociology/Anthropology Spelman College Charlotte Brammer, Director Writing Across the Curriculum Dept. of Communication Studies Samford University

    2. This afternoon we will: Set engaged department work in the context of institutional change Explore an engaged department framework Consider research findings and lessons learned from a national writing project Visit engaged departments in action Discuss exemplars, concerns, plans and future research

    3. Agenda for this session Brief introductions 10,000 Feet Engaging departments in institutional contexts Lessons from a national project 100 Feet Three case studies On the Ground Your department, your institution

    4. An Engaged Department When we talk about an “engaged department,” what do we mean by “engagement”?

    5. Service Learning Courses provide opportunities for students to work with community in structured activities that are related to course content.Service Learning Courses provide opportunities for students to work with community in structured activities that are related to course content.

    6. Public Mandate “Society appropriately is asking that we justify the huge investment made in both research and teaching institutions in higher education. Campuses configured in ivory towers are no longer acceptable. The academy is responding to this public mandate” Sherwyn Morreale, former associate director of the National Communication Association (NCA) & James Applegate, past president NCA. In Kecskes, K. (Ed.) Engaging Departments: Moving Faculty Culture from Private to Public, Individual to Collective Focus for the Common Good. (Chapter 17)

    7. Why The Department? “Departments are the units in which the institution’s strategy for academic development is formulated in practice.” Donald Kennedy “The department is arguably the definitive locus of faculty culture, especially departments that gain their definition by being their campus’s embodiment of distinguished and hallowed disciplines…. we could have expected that reformers would have placed departmental reform at the core of their agenda; yet just the opposite has occurred. There has been a noticeable lack of discussion of – or even new ideas about – departments’ role in reform.” Edwards, Richard. 1999. The Academic Department: How does it Fit Into the University Reform Agenda? Change, September/October, p. 17-27.

    8. Engagement as a “core value” for the university of the 21st century Engagement implies strenuous, thoughtful, argumentative interaction with the non-university world in at least four spheres: setting universities’ aims, purposes, and priorities; relating teaching and learning to the wider world; the back-and-forth dialogue between researchers and practitioners; and taking on wider responsibilities as neighbors and citizens. (Association of Commonwealth Universities)

    9. Pathways to Civic Engagement

    10. The New Production of Knowledge (the epistemological pathway) …the pursuit of knowledge itself demands engagement. Increasingly, academics in many disciplines are realizing that their own intellectual territory overlaps with that of other knowledge professionals working outside the university sector…A greater number of academics need to define their territory more widely and accept that they share much of it with other knowledge-professionals …Increasingly, academics state that the search for formal understanding itself, long central to our mission, is moving rapidly beyond the borders of disciplines and their location inside universities. Knowledge is being keenly pursued in the context of its application and in a dialogue of practice with theory through a network of policy-advisors, companies, consultants, think-tanks and knowledge brokers as well as academics. (Association of Commonwealth Universities)

    11. “For the sake of creating new knowledge, what is the intellectual space for complementary epistemologies at Middlebury college.”

    12. Improved Teaching and Learning (the pedagogical pathway) “People worldwide need a whole series of new competencies...But I doubt that such abilities can be taught solely in the classroom, or be developed solely by teachers. Higher order thinking and problem solving skills grow out of direct experience, not simply teaching; they require more than a classroom activity. They develop through active involvement and real life experiences in workplaces and the community.” John Abbott, Director of Britain’s Education 2000 Trust, Interview with Ted Marchese, AAHE Bulletin, 1996

    13. Connecting to the community for the benefit of the campus and the community (the partnership pathway) American colleges and universities are “one of the greatest hopes for intellectual and civic progress in this country. I am convinced that for this hope to be fulfilled, the academy must become a more vigorous partner in the search for answers to our most pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems, and must reaffirm its historic commitment to what I call the scholarship of engagement.” Ernest Boyer, The Scholarship of Engagement. 1996.

    14. The Civic Purpose of Higher Education (the mission pathway) "Unless education has some frame of reference it is bound to be aimless, lacking a unified objective. The necessity for a frame of reference must be admitted. There exists in this country such a unified frame. It is called democracy." John Dewey (1937)

    15. The Engaged Department While education informed by civic engagement (and vice versa) fosters new opportunities for achieving specific learning outcomes and deeper engagement in learning, one of the critical areas for development is integrating civic engagement at the curriculum level. The engaged department marks an evolution in the development of civic engagement in higher education from individual course-level initiatives and faculty development to the logic of the curriculum itself.

    16. Curriculum (curricular structures and pathways) “Even aside from its capacity to reach all students, the curriculum is central to educating college students as citizens because so many key dimensions of moral and civic maturity are fundamentally cognitive or intellectual – rooted in understanding, interpretation, and judgment.” (Colby, et al, Educating Citizens, 2003)

    17. “Curricular Engagement” Curricular Engagement describes teaching, learning, and scholarship which engage faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Their interactions address community identified needs, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, enhance the well-being of the community, and enrich the scholarship of the institution. Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching

    18. Curricular structures and pathways civic engagement in general education. civic engagement in Freshman Seminars. civic engagement in Senior Year or Capstone courses. civic engagement as a focus of the major – departmental strategies civic engagement at the core of interdisciplinary majors and minors. civic engagement as the cohesive element for learning communities. civic engagement integrated into summer programs. civic engagement integrated into internships and study abroad. civic engagement in graduate education

    19. Impermeable Membrane? “We have, of course, always known that this day would come. While presidents have lined up to sign Campus Compact’s Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education, the percentage of faculty using community-based work in their teaching continues to increase, and more and more institutions are moving to establish some kind of office to facilitate campus-community collaborations, one overriding question remains: will individual faculty interest seeping up from below and administrative encouragement trickling down from above finally reach each other at the level of departmental culture or will they instead encounter an impermeable membrane?” - Zlotkowski, E. & Saltmarsh, J. (2006). In Kecskes, K. (Ed.) Engaging Departments: Moving Faculty Culture from Private to Public, Individual to Collective Focus for the Common Good. Anker Publishing (Chapter 18)

    20. Uphill Climb The university has become more of a bureaucracy than a community—"a mechanism held together by administrative rules and powered by money…a series of individual faculty entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance over parking." - Clark Kerr, 1963

    21. PSU perspective Mission: “Let knowledge serve the city” Public Urban Institution Draws from and feeds local population Diverse Student Body Focus on Student learning OutcomesPSU perspective Mission: “Let knowledge serve the city” Public Urban Institution Draws from and feeds local population Diverse Student Body Focus on Student learning Outcomes

    22. PSU Development Model Faculty Development Approaches Students in the Arts at Portland State University will share their experiences, offer suggestions, and lead activities that form bridges between themselves, faculty, and the community.Students in the Arts at Portland State University will share their experiences, offer suggestions, and lead activities that form bridges between themselves, faculty, and the community.

    23. Key Features of an Engaged Department The work of the department is collaborative: Shift from “my work” to “our work” Public dialogue about the values, interests, and goals of the department. Engagement as community-based public problem solving.

    24. Why work with Academic Departments? PSU’s Response Faculty find their intellectual and professional home in the department. Nationally, work is being done to educate discipline associations and articulate connections to engagement. Student experiences with community-based work can be fragmented when coordinated at the individual faculty level There are several potential benefits for students, faculty, and community partners

    25. Working with Departments – PSU’s History Engaged Department Institute offered by Campus Compact, June 2001 Team of 6 participate in a 4-day institute to explore the concepts of “the department as a unit of engagement and change.” 7 departments participated in year long program, 2001 thru 2002 12 units in 2002 thru 2003 12 units in 2003 thru 2006

    26. Departmental Participation at PSU Applied Linguistics Architecture Art Community Health University Studies (General Education) Urban Studies and Planning Women’s Studies Geology Political Science Portland International Initiative for Leadership in Ecology, Culture and Learning (PIIECL) Public Administration and Policy Center for Science Education Education, Policy and Foundations English Foreign Languages and Literature History Mathematics Physics Psychology School of Business

    27. Methodology – PSU Study Investigation of six primary sources: the initial project proposals annual reports from each participating department poster displays created by each participating unit annually collective meetings that bring all departmental grant recipients together meetings between individual departmental teams and CAE program staff individual interviews Primary Source: Kecskes, K. and Spring, A. (2006). Continuums of engagement at Portland State University: An institution-wide initiative to support departmental collaboration for the common good. In Kecskes, K. (Ed). Engaging Departments: Moving Faculty Culture From Private to Public, Individual to Collective Focus for the Common Good. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing, 219-242. Additional Source: Kecskes, K., Gelmon, S.B., & Spring A. (2006). Creating engaged departments: a program for organizational and faculty development. To Improve the Academy, 24, 147-165.

    28. PSU: Findings – General Insights Keep Definitions and Expectations Broad Ask Foundational Questions Systematic and/or Organic Program Growth Internal Politics and Credibility Leadership from Chair Disciplines Vary Professional Development Needs Change and Grow Connect Unit Work to Larger Community Agendas

    29. PSU: Findings – Effective Department-level Strategies Someone Assumes Responsibility One (Key) Course at a Time Specific Theme or Partner Focus Take Stock, Innovate, Communicate

    30. Recommendations: Department Chairs Take Stock, Synergize Make Time Notice, Appreciate Students as Assets Find Money - departmental “point person” Envision Expanded Community Partner Roles Evaluate Ask the Right Questions

    31. Recommendations: Senior Academic Officers Institutionalize Make it Count Shine the Light Incentives can Work Be a Connector Ask the Right Questions

    32. Recommendations Centralized Office Staff (CSDs) Define “departmental engagement” broadly Stay Open: no “one right way” Listen for Discipline-specific Needs Understand First Encourage Communication (articles) Not for Everyone: Expect “fall out” Remember the Service-Learning Triad, re: roles Support Scholarship Shine the Light Keep Raising the Stakes

    33. Sustainability Indicators for Engaged Departments Support of the Department Chair (advocacy for faculty efforts/ creating a supportive environment). Departmental curriculum is designed and delivered in a collaborative way. Civic engagement is accepted as core academic work. (Faculty provide leadership for improved teaching, learning, and scholarship). Incentives are created for community-based teaching and scholarship. (Faculty roles and rewards are consistent with community-based teaching and scholarship). Institutional infrastructure to support faculty in community-based teaching and learning (service-learning office, staff support).

    35. Methodology – National Study Considered nearly 100 departments Invited 25% to submit abstracts for evaluation Selected 11 departments for inclusion in book Performed contextual analysis to identify common themes Developed “characteristics” framework Tested framework with PSU departments

    36. Exploring Multiple Perspectives Characteristics of an Engaged Department – Assessment Initiative Faculty Perspectives Community Partners’ Perspectives Students’ Perspectives Unit-level Perspectives

    37. National Exemplars Communication Studies at Samford University Geology at Orange Coast College Art at Portland State University English at Chandler-Gilbert Community College Social Work Education at Widener University Sociology and Anthropology at Spelman College Nursing at Case Western Reserve University Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Sociology at Georgetown University Chicana and Chicano Studies at the UCLA Educational Psychology and Counseling at CSU, Northridge Featured in Kecskes, K. (Ed.) Engaging Departments: Moving Faculty Culture from Private to Public, Individual to Collective Focus for the Common Good. Anker Publishing, 2006

    38. Engaging Departments Connective Pathways

    39. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    40. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways ENGAGED DEPARTMENT Unit-level Dimensions Context of Department/Institution Common Understandings Multiple Methods Building on the Individual Funding for infrastructure

    41. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways ENGAGED DEPARTMENT Unit-level Dimensions Leadership Model Position the Narrative Low Hanging Fruit Approach (Re)conceptualize Faculty Work Centralized/Decentralized

    42. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    43. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    44. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    45. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    46. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    47. Department of Art • Portland State University Connective Pathways

    48. Engaging Departments Connective Pathways

    49. The Spelman College Total Person Commits to Positive Social Change Association of American Colleges And Universities January 19, 2007 New Orleans, Louisiana Cynthia Neal Spence, Ph.D.

    50. Spelman College Mission Statement An outstanding historically Black college for women, Spelman promotes academic excellence in the liberal arts, and develops the intellectual, ethical, and leadership potential of its students. Spelman seeks to empower the total person, who appreciates the many cultures of he world and commits to positive social change.

    51. Institutional and Community Context Atlanta University Center Living Laboratory Duboisian Framework

    52. Departmental Context Departmental perspectives: “ to study social phenomenon, one must engage the issue “personally not by proxy” “ nothing is as it seems or appears” “ one must continually question how positions of privilege influence individual and social perspectives”

    53. Student Context The Student Scholar Activist Model SASSAFRAS ( student organization) Montgomery to Memphis Violence Against Women Student Internships

    54. Engaging Departments Connective Pathways

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