OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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“By engagement, we refer to redesigned teaching, research, and extension and service functions that are sympathetically and productively involved with the communities universities serve, however community is defined. [Engagement is] … something that goes well beyond Cooperative Extension and conventional outreach. It even goes beyond most conceptions of public service. … [E]mbedded in it is a commitment to sharing and reciprocity.” (Kellogg Commission on the Future of the State and Land-Grant Universities, 1999, p. 27)
“Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and nonpolitical processes." (Ehrlich, 2000, p. vi)
"Civic engagement is acting upon a heightened sense of responsibility to one’s communities. This includes a wide range of activities, including developing civic sensitivity, participation in building civil society, and benefiting the common good. Civic engagement encompasses the notions of global citizenship and interdependence. Through civic engagement, individuals—as citizens of their communities, their nations, and the world—are empowered as agents of positive social change for a more democratic world." (Jacoby, 2009)
The purpose of civic engagement is “strengthening our communities and democracy through developing students for lives of active citizenship” (Sponsler & Hartley, 2013, p. 5)
[Untitled image of four constructs of civic engagement]
Community is defined in this context to mean Oregon State University, local neighborhoods, the state, the nation, and the world community. OSU further defines true community as “a place where each person can feel cared for, supported, encouraged, nurtured, enriched, and energized…”. (Oregon State University, 2014, p. 7)
Community engagement means “applying institutional resources (e.g., knowledge and expertise of students, faculty and staff, political position, buildings and land) to address and solve challenges facing communities through collaboration with these communities. The methods for community engagement of academic institutions include community service, service-learning, community-based participatory research, training and technical assistance, capacity-building and economic development.” (Gelmon, Seifer, Kauper-Brown, & Mikkelsen, 2005)
“Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. Reflection and reciprocity are key concepts of service-learning.” (Jacoby, 1996, p. 5)
A person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task. (Oxford Dictionaries)
References
Ehrlich, T. (2000). Civic responsibility and higher education. Westport, CT: American Council on Education/The Oryx Press.
Jacoby, B. (2009). Civic engagement in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Jacoby, B. (1996). Service-learning in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kellogg Commission on the Future of the State and Land-Grant Universities. (1999). Returning to our roots: The engaged institution. Retrieved from http://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=183
Oregon State University. (2014). Strategic plan: Focus on excellence, 2014-18. Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/sites/studentlife.oregonstate.edu/files/strategic-plan/osu-strategicplan-final-revised2.pdf
Oxford Dictionaries. Volunteer. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/volunteer
S. B. Gelmon, S. D. Seifer, J. Kauper-Brown, & M. Mikkelsen. (2005). Building capacity for community engagement: Institutional self-assessment. Seattle, WA: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health. Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/ccph/pdf_files/self-assessment-copyright.pdf
Sponsler, L. E., & Hartley, M. (2013). Five things student affairs professional can do to institutionalize civic engagement. Retrieved from http://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/5THINGS-AUG2013_WEB.pdf
[Untitled image of four constructs of civic engagement]. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from: http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/youth-topics/civic-engagement-and-volunteering/what-relationship-between-civic-engagement-volunteering-and-service-learning