Book Description
The American university has undergone several transformations over the centuries, specifically in the area of community engagement. For the second half of the 20th century, the focus of large, urban universities was dominated by disciplinary research, the development of technology, and competition for grants. With the publication of Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate in 1990, a new focus on community engagement was sparked. Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, much has been written about one form of engagement, university-community partnerships. This study takes the concepts from the literature on university-community partnerships and creates a model of partnership functioning. Forty-two community partners and 23 university partners that received funding in 2004 from the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin were recruited to participate in this study. After completing quantitative surveys, nine community partners and seven university partners were selected from the sample to participate in interviews. Results show that several differences exist between university and community partners in terms of perception of partnership functioning. Community partners reported higher levels of trust, respect, assessing partner's strengths and weaknesses, alignment of partnership mission with their organizational mission, and an understanding of partner organizations' culture. Faculty partners reported higher levels of conflict among the partners and more shared credit for the accomplishments of the partnership, as opposed to community partners. In terms of the partnership model, statistical significance was found in the relationships of the partnership dimensions outlined in the model. In working through the model, as the partnership dimension variables approach the final stage, the partnership outcome variables, few statistically significant results are found, due to the timing of data collection as it relates to the relative newness of partnerships that were assessed in this study. Based on the results, an alternative model is proposed that takes into account diversity among partnerships, in that, a specific chronology of dimensions is not possible. Based upon feedback from the partners as decisions are made, activities are implemented, and assessments are conducted, the new model shows that partnerships are in constant flux, adjusting to feedback as time goes on.
