Community engagement can be key to transforming universities

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[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/furco.jpg” caption=”A properly defined engagement strategy is key to helping break down the barriers that can separate universities from their communities, according to Andrew Furco, a leading expert in higher education and community engagement. “]A properly defined engagement strategy is key to helping break down the barriers that
can separate universities from their communities, according to a leading expert in
higher education and community engagement.

A university effectively engaged with its community can help bridge gaps between the
“ivory tower that can be seen as being apart from the community rather than being a
part of the community,” said Andrew Furco, the associate vice-president of public
engagement at the University of Minnesota and a global expert in service-learning.

Furco, who is also an associate professor in the University of Minnesota's College of
Education and Human Development, spoke to a large campus gathering as part of
President Patrick Deane's ongoing series: The Seminar on Higher Education: Practice,
Policy, and Public Life.

“Thoughtfully undertaking an explicit community engagement strategy can help
transform our institutions,” said Furco, who also said engaging students and faculty
with the community is complex work that can be difficult but can yield long-term
benefits.

“This is complicated and not easy to do,” he said. Furco pointed to the significant
outcomes of a properly conceived and delivered engagement strategy. He cites
improved student confidence and self-esteem, enhanced teaching satisfaction for
faculty and heightened faculty and student affinity to their university as measureable
outcomes of a successful engagement strategy.

Furco said the importance of community engagement at McMaster is reflected in the
University's vision and mission statements which already include civic and societal
themes. He encourages the University to continue the discussion about how a
meaningful engagement strategy can help accomplish larger goals.

“The goal is not to do community engagement in isolation but to use it as one vehicle to
accomplish campus goals. It should not be seen as a program, but rather as a strategy.”

The aim of the McMaster Seminar on Higher Education: Practice, Policy, and Public Life is
to encourage dialogue and inspire critical thought within the McMaster and the broader
Hamilton communities.

The next seminar in the series is scheduled for February 6 at 3:30 p.m. in Council
Chambers, when this year's recipients of the President's Awards for Teaching & Learning
will participate in a panel discussion on Student Learning, Instructor Experience and
Community Engagement.