Public Engagement

Yesterday I participated in a lively discussion about chaaracteristics of community-engaged scholarship that can "be used to inform the development of criteria for the review of community-engaged scholars" in the promotion and tenure (P&T) process. The discussion was led by Cathy Jordan, Director of our Children, Youth, and Family Consortium, who chairs the Peer Review Workgroup of the Community-Engaged Scholarship for Health Collaborative under the aegis of Community-Campus Partnerships for Health.

The draft document that served as the basis for our discussion listed eight characteristics that should serve as the basis for the development of criteria:

1. Clear Goals
2. Adequate Preparation
3. Appropriate Methods: Scientific Rigor AND Community Engagement
4. Significant Results/Impact
5. Effective Presentation/Dissemination
6. Reflective Critique
7. Leadership and Personal Contribution
8. Consistently Ethical Behavior

These are all excellent characteristics, and the sample P&T dossier that was prepared using them was a model of thoughtful articulation and presentation. And yet, something seemed to me to be missing, in the context of P&T decisions at a Research I university: a clear statement and demonstration of the goal to become a leader in the discipline.

Top-ranking research universities expect that their faculty will be leaders in their fields, doing research that notably advances the disciplines by contributing to the solution of outstanding problems, developing new and improved methodologies, changing the way that outstanding problems are conceived, and writing about those accomplishments in numerous journal articles and/or books. Tenure is granted to probationary faculty members who demonstrate substantial evidence of being on track to fulfill those expectations.

These expectations seem to conflict with the ideas of community-based research in at least three ways: an emphasis on disciplinary standards, an expectation that the research will have broad impact rather than being focused on a particular local community, and an expectation of multitudinous publications in professional journals or books. I think that these conflicts are only apparent, and that top-quality community-engaged research can in fact satisfy the highest "traditional" academic expectations.

First, disciplinary standards: Academic disciplines that work with communities to do their research (e.g., the health professions, law, social sciences) need the cooperation of those communities if the research is to be reliable or even feasible. Careless or arrogant research in communities—all too common, unfortunately—can adversely affect cooperation and, thereby, the quality of the research. Careful cultivation of good relations with communities as active partners is likely to lead to much better (more complete, better follow-through with longitudinal research, more insightful) research results and thus a higher level of satisfaction of the best disciplinary standards.

Second, broad vs. local: Although community-engaged research is done in and with a specific local community, the research problem is likely to be a general one (e.g., nutrition, environmental toxicology, developmental effects of poverty). Therefore, the results are likely to have broad implications. Of course, the appropriate generalizations need to be made by the investigator in presenting and publishing the study.

Third, productivity: It may take several years to develop the trust and interactions needed to do good community-based research, but that time need not be devoid of publications. Community-based research is a relatively new approach, and there is much need for discussion of ways to do it well under various circumstances. Therefore, publications in professional journals—and presentations at professional meetings—on methodologies for community-based research, before the research is fully underway, would seem natural and desirable.

It is true that traditional academic attitudes do not easily fade away; but although significant conceptual and methodological transformations—those that are eventually recognized as having changed fields of research—take more time and effort, those who accomplish them are ultimately recognized as the true leaders of the disciplines.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 9:23 PM | Permalink

Yesterday I drove up to Duluth to meet with Casey LaCore, Director of the Office of Civic Engagement at University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and other faculty and staff active in engagement on that campus. They have a lively web site at http://www.d.umn.edu/outreach/civic/.

Several things particularly struck me during the day:

• The Vice Chancellor of UMD, Vince Magunuson, had been an early and active proponent of establishing the civic engagement office, just as our provost, Bob Bruininks, had been on the Twin Cities campus. This reinforces the idea that successful engagement efforts require top-down as well as bottom-up leadership.
• Casey LaCore has a small but effective staff of AmeriCorps*VISTAs. This is a resource that other campuses might also try to develop.
• UMD has a very high proportion of students involved in community service and service-learning projects. Casey LaCore has obviously been very effective in building a sense of public service, which fits with the strong social capital ethos in Duluth.

At lunch I joined a group that was following up a previous discussion about how to teach citizenship, defined in a way that goes well beyond voting. Each participant had been asked "to name a skill related to citizenship that they wished our graduates would possess", and this session was devoted to discussing how these skills could be fostered in each academic department. The list of desired skills was

• Make a clear persuasive argument to something they don’t agree with
• Dissent creatively
• Be able to advocate
• Have humility
• Have compassion
• Have a sense of awareness that allows them to see from different perspectives
• Have a sense of empowerment
• Have an ability to see the bigger picture
• Have an ability to learn from those who are different
• Have research skills that allow them to understand local policy
• Have a disposition to use the skills they have developed
• Use creativity
• Have curiosity and follow through where that takes them
• Have a basic working knowledge of the Constitution and Bill of Rights

The questions for consideration, which led to a lively discussion, were:

• Are these goals something that our departments could contribute to? How?
• What are ways that co-curricular parts of the university (Student Services or Housing, for example), could contribute to reaching these outcomes?
• Where else within the university could we pursue having students reach these goals?
• Is there a way to measure these outcomes?

I was particularly intrigued with how the last-listed desired skill, "Have a basic working knowledge of the Constitution and Bill of Rights", might be integrated into the teaching programs of departments other than history or political science. A professor in the Theater Department described how he had incorporated such issues into the preparations for a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In the sciences, current issues such as restrictions on the ability of international students to work on "national security-related" research projects might lead to broader discussions of free speech.

One participant pointed out that we need to remember that the Constitution is a living document. A good example for discussion with students would be the recent Supreme Court decisions about affirmative action in admissions, in response to the University of Michigan cases. Each department could have a useful dialog about how those decisions might pertain to their academic discipline.

Noting that few faculty outside the specialist departments have more than a rudimentary knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we agreed that such discussions would be a good opportunity to arrange interdisciplinary teaching sessions and all-campus convocations.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 9:43 AM | Permalink

Few issues are of greater long-term importance to society than renewable energy and the impacts of energy production and use on the environment. The Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) has for several years supported research in this area, with an annual conference to showcase progress. This year's conference is Tuesday, November 28, and will feature more than 70 poster presentations on

• Nanowire and Nanoparticle Based Solar Cells
• Biofuels Research at the U of M Center for Diesel Research
• Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration
• Genetic Improvement of Woody Crops and the Potential Role of Energy Crops
• The Potential of Electrons from Bacteria

This is an area of research where extremely interesting science and technology challenges intersect with pressing societal needs. Minnesota, with its large expanses of land for growing biofuels, stands to benefit greatly—both economically and environmentally—if the challenges can be solved, so the state has been unusually generous in its support of renewable energy research. Seldom is the case for the public engagement aspects of research so clear.

More details are available on the UM News Service website.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 9:24 PM | Permalink

On September 11 I blogged about the work of University of Minnesota Interior Design students and their professor, Caren Martin, in designing flexible office space for both community and university groups in north Minneapolis. Now it seems they're at it again!

The Parkway Theater in south Minneapolis was built in 1931. It is still open, but has a new owner who wants to rehab it to become a neighborhood destination that can accommodate small live theater productions and banquets. A story by Linda Mack in last Friday's Star Tribune tells how the students, grouped into seven design teams, "showed their drawings to neighbors and community leaders in the theater's lobby and auditorium." The designs will next be used to inform potential investors.

Public engagement projects such as this give students valuable real-world experience and enhance their enthusiasm, while providing real benefits to neighborhoods and the urban environment. And, Mack's article indicates, it might not have happened had not Caren Martin been acquainted with the Parkway's new owner: a good argument for university faculty and staff to be active members of their communities.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 8:50 AM | Permalink

A University of Minnesota News Service story earlier this month told how the U is studying the driveability of vehicles using E20, an experimental fuel that is 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent gasoline. According to the story,

"By August 2013, state law will require all gasoline sold in Minnesota to contain 20 percent alcohol by volume. Minnesota has required 10 percent ethanol in gasoline since 1997. In order for this requirement to take effect, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must certify E20 as a motor fuel through a waiver under the Clean Air Act.

The state of Minnesota has contracted with the U of M to conduct a year-long drivability evaluation as the state aims to increase the use of alternative fuels in the state. The Council of Great Lakes Governors has supplied additional funding in support of the project. Results of the study will help the state pursue the EPA waiver."

A nice aspect of the study is that the test is being carried out by the U's Parking and Transportation Services:

"Eighty vehicles out of the university's fleet of 525 on the Twin Cities campus have been chosen for this test. As a control group, 40 of the vehicles have been running on a base fuel containing no ethanol. The other 40 are running on E20 fuel. The 40 pairs represent a cross section of vehicles with a variety of manufacturers and engine sizes, including hybrid vehicles....

Drivers regularly complete surveys measuring vehicle performance and driver experience. The university handles all vehicle maintenance at the Fleet Services Building. Mechanics have been monitoring mechanical problems and recording any drivability issues. Drivability issues include things such as non-starting, poor starting, the check engine light coming on and hesitation while accelerating or driving at a fixed speed. During the first three months, no drivability issues have been noted. The upcoming cold weather and a change in fuel blends for fall and spring may impact subsequent findings."

A story from the Star Tribune, written after the Legislature passed its mandate last May and preserved on a Minnesota State University Mankato web site, gives some Q&A about the increasing use of ethanol. The story has also been picked up by local TV station KARE 11 and is on its web site.

As a colleague of mine exclaimed, "Here's a superb example of engagement; it has all the elements!" A critical societal issue; close involvement by university, governmental, and (implicitly) private interests; careful research design; participation by U staff and facilties personnel, not just faculty; and thoughtful notice by the media.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 3:17 PM | Permalink

Today is Thanksgiving, and yesterday's Star Tribune, in a preamble to the holiday, had an interesting story about the dramatic change in turkey production over the past 20 years. Turkeys grow larger and faster, but more cheaply, than they used to.

These changes are due to remarkably effective breeding (not genetic engineering) to get desirable characteristics. The breeding is done these days by two major companies, but much of the groundwork was laid by researchers in the Animal Science Department at the University of Minnesota. Their work has made Minnesota "the turkey capital of the world". It's interesting to look at the "Poultry U" web site to see the range of information that the U offers in support of turkey management:

• Management of turkey flocks: ventilation, heat stress, and litter
• Nutrition
• Processing, including rules and regulations
• Status of the turkey industry in the United States
• Turkey production in other countries
• Links to turkey industry publications

This type of service and direct connection to an agriculturally important industry typifies the traditional land grant mission of state universities. It is the forerunner of what we now term "technology transfer"; and it has the characteristics of a partnership of knowledge and problem definition between the public and the university that qualifies it to be called "public engagement". It also raises some issues, e.g., Does the university become too dependent on support in the state legislature from a commodity producer group? Do commercial interests unduly shape the U's research agenda? Does focus on an agricultural industry shortchange other aspects of rural life?

Despite these questions, most of us would conclude that, on balance, the U's involvement with the turkey industry has been a good thing. The next question is: How do we transfer this model to the key issues facing our state in the 21st century? Not just new high-tech industries, but also education, health care, aging, and similar issues that don't have a clear economic focus but which will determine the well-being of our society.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 12:21 PM | Permalink

At a meeting this week I learned about Juxtaposition Arts, a new community organization connected with the Service and Engagement efforts in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota.

According to their web site, Juxtaposition Arts is

"A non-profit youth focused visual arts organization engaging audiences through its community collaborations, studio arts workshops, public mural programs and special festivals and art exhibitions.

Two visual artists founded the organization in 1995 as a means to engage artistically inclined urban youth in high quality creative experiences in ways that are practical, relevant, and life changing."

I did a little further exploration, and found that Juxtaposition Arts is one of community partners in the course Landscape Architecture 1202, Making the Mississippi, taught by Patrick Nunnally. According to the course web site,

"This course examines how urban communities in the Upper Mississippi region are reconnecting to the river. Students are given a pragmatic sense of what people do in planning and then apply their research through community engagement. The final project generates ideas in riverfront planning for the community organizations involved and students are left with a wealth of knowledge and experience in community planning and design along the Mississippi.

Community engagement

Students work in teams on a community design project associated with a local partner organization. This project makes up thirty percent of the course and incorporates material covered in the other sixty percent. Community partners speak with students at the beginning of the project and attend a final review of student presentations. Additional fieldwork exercises focus on what has already been accomplished in riverfront planning."

Juxtaposition Arts points up several important lessons:

• There are other ways than STEM to involve urban youth in college-related programs.
• Service-learning activities can connect with community issues in many imaginative ways.
• Taking advantage of geographical specifics can connect communities, local governments, and educational institutions in novel and useful ways.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 8:52 AM | Permalink

The University of Minnesota is undertaking a major revision of its tenure guidelines. Public Engagement is proposed to be, for the first time, an explicit component of the activities that may be considered in evaluating performance. The proposal that will be discussed by the Faculty Senate at the end of this month is:

7.11 General Criteria. What the University of Minnesota seeks above all in its faculty members is intellectual distinction and academic integrity. The basis for awarding indefinite tenure to the candidates possessing these qualities is the determination that each candidate has established and is likely to continue to add to a distinguished record of academic achievement that is the foundation for a national or international reputation or both. This determination is reached through a qualitative evaluation of the candidate’s record of scholarly research or other creative work, teaching, and service. Interdisciplinary work, public engagement, international activities and initiatives, and technology transfer will be taken into consideration, when determined to be relevant by the department or equivalent academic unit, in evaluating the candidate’s satisfaction of criteria; such contributions can involve scholarly research or other creative work, teaching, and discipline-related service.

We use the CIC definition of engagement:

Engagement is the partnership of university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to

• enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity;
• enhance curriculum, teaching and learning;
• prepare educated, engaged citizens;
• strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility;
• address critical societal issues; and
• contribute to the public good.

Some comments seem useful to elaborate on how this definition fits into our usual academic criteria:

• A key concept, which differentiates engagement from standard service or outreach, is "partnership". This does not mean that the U and the public provide the same kinds of resources, but rather that the public partner brings knowledge of community problems and issues, local skills and obstacles, cultural awareness, specific technical information, etc.
• Engagement is intended to enrich research and enhance teaching, not to stand apart from them.
• Points 3 and 4 are perfectly aligned with our liberal education goals.
• Points 5 and 6 speak directly to our land-grant mission.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 2:01 PM | Permalink

This past Saturday a dialog on health disparities was hosted by two student groups at the University of Minnesota: the University chapters of the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children and the American Medical Student Association.

According to a story in today's Minnesota Daily, "The six-hour discussion highlighted inequality in the health care system at state and national levels." This is an especially appropriate topic for Minnesota and its medical professionals-in-training, because although Minnesota has among the best health statistics in the country, we also have some of the worst statistics for people of color. And according to the World Health Organization, the U.S. health system is only 37th in the world, although America spends at least 50 percent more per capita than any other country.

Participants from outside the U included some of the most prominent people in Minnesota health care, including Courage Center CEO and Minnesota Public Health Association President Jan Malcolm, Health Partners C.E.O Mary Brainerd, and Founder of United Family Practice Clinic Timothy Rumsey.

It's noteworthy that current and future medical students and other budding health care professionals are taking the lead about being informed about these issues and having the opportunity to discuss them with real-world professional leaders. We need more of this sort of education-focused public engagement.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 9:16 AM | Permalink

A couple of weeks ago I had a visit from Dr. Michael Cuthill, Director of the UQ Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre at the University of Queensland, Australia. It's encouraging to get more evidence of the international spread—see my October 27, 2006 blog—of the public engagement movement, and to recognize both the fundamental similarities and local differences of different institutions. The web page about the Centre has a nice summary of the basic purpose and philosophy that could be used by many of our organizations:

The purpose of the Boilerhouse is to facilitate just and sustainable community outcomes. To achieve this purpose, the centre engages with diverse stakeholders from the private, public, and community sectors in developing informed and collaborative responses to both existing and emerging community issues. 

Why do we want collaborative responses?  It has been argued that no single entity, be it public, private or non-government, can deal effectively with the complex interweaving of issues confronting modern society.  Limited knowledge, time, abilities and energy constrain any one organisation in its efforts to build a just and sustainable society.  Collaboration however opens up new possibilities for innovation - responsibility is shared, diverse perspectives are heard and resources can be used more effectively.  

The following principles provide a clear philosophical foundation for our work.  These include our commitment to:

Collaborative responses to local issues;

Active citizenship;

Personal relationships as a basis for collaboration, and

Sustainable development incorporating a balance between

• Social justice
• Economic stability and equity
• Environmental protection, and
• Participatory governance

The UQ Boilerhouse is undertaking an audit of UQ Community Service/Engagement Activity. One of its hoped-for outcomes is an identification of "[b]enefits to both University of Queensland and external stakeholders (including economic value of UQ community service/engagement activity." This will be tough to obtain, and we'll be looking with interest at whatever methodology may be used, in hope that we might replicate it.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 8:56 AM | Permalink

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one of the most serious threats to public health. It is therefore suitable and gratifying that the Center for Urban and Rural Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota has sponsored a study on "Municipal Wastewater Treatment: A Novel Opportunity to Slow the Proliferation of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria?" and published an account of the findings in the Fall 2006 issue of the CURA Reporter. The report is available online at http://www.cura.umn.edu/reporter/06-Fall/LaParaetal.pdf.

The report gives a sophisticated but layperson's-level overview of antibiotic resistance, its origins, biological mechanisms, and dangers. The study was designed to determine whether standard municipal wastewater treatment is adequate to remove resistant bacteria from the water supply. The disturbing answer is "No." Even from a good municipal system, trillions of resistant bacteria are released into the water supply each day. The report suggests an additional step—sand filtration—that should be used, and points out that thermophilic (high-temperature) anaerobic digestion, though more costly, may be even more effective.

Implementing such additional purification steps may be costly, but the inability to treat bacterial infections due to antibiotic resistance will be a lot more costly. We may hope that University researchers will engage with government agencies and politicians to work out viable solutions to this problem.

It is interesting to note that the investigators include faculty, graduate students, an undergrad and a postdoc from a range of departments and colleges at the University of Minnesota: Civil Engineering; Soil, Water, and Climate; the College of Biological Sciences; and the Biotechnology Institute. Such interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary to solve real-world problems. Now they may need to drag some political scientists and economists into the mix.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 12:43 PM | Permalink

Transportation determines so much of our lives: where we live, where we work, where we send our kids to school, where we shop and find recreation, which neighborhoods prosper and which decline, etc. The University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) and Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) are leading centers for study of transportation and its effects on modern life.

Hence I was interested when an impressive report/disseration arrived in my mailbox recently: Politics and Freeways: Building the Twin Cities Interstate System by Patricia Cavanaugh. Jointly sponsored by CTS and CURA, the report traces the history, politics, and decision points from the "Mega-Projects" era (1956 to the late 1960s) through the expansion of the debate (1970 to the mid-1990s) to the current period of falling behind (1990s to present). The report is available on the CURA web site. It is well worth browsing or reading. Here I'd like just to note the questions at the end of the Conclusions (p. 111):

• What is congestion?

• What levels are tolerable, and how much are we willing to pay to provide relief?

• Minnesotans, like many Americans, are strongly attached to their cars and expect unlimited mobility. Is that a reasonable expectation?

• Despite our tradition of providing access to transportation as a public good, is the region better served by requiring people to pay for the use of certain facilities?

• Are there land-use patterns that have potential for reducing the need to drive?

• What factors would have a significant effect on decisions about location and transportation for business and households?

• What mix of transit and roads would fit our region?

• How do we balance transportation needs against other social goods, such as education and healthcare, when resources are scarce?

• If there is no money, will there be innovation, or does the innovation have to come first?

Key questions indeed, which will vex the public, government agencies, and politicians for a long time to come. The University has a key role in engaging with the other stakeholders to provide an objective and informed voice in the debate.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 7:12 AM | Permalink

The Fall 2006 of Medical Bulletin, a publication of the Minnesota Medical Foundation that profiles activities in the University of Minnesota Medical School, has an important article "Preserving a critical pathway" about the Medical School's efforts to save the Center for American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH).

The Center has graduated more American Indian physicians than all but one other US medical school: 123 over the past 30 years, which is more than 7% of all American Indian physicians practicing in the US. Further, more than half of them serve American Indian communities. Despite this successful record, CAIMH lost 83% of its budget when its federal funding ended September 1.

According to its web site

University of Minnesota Center of American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH) strives to raise the health status of the Native American population by educating Native American students in the field of health care and Indian health. CAIMH provides support to Native American students to attain their medical degree, with many returning to their communities to deliver culturally sensitive health care to their own people.

The Indian Health Pathway was developed by CAIMH to support American Indian pre-health professions students and medical school students throughout all stages of their education. The IHP stresses the importance of allowing each American Indian student to retain unique qualities and belief systems that are the essence of being American Indian while progressing through the education system.

The Indian Health Pathway is grounded at the K-12 level and continues through undergraduate to medical school and a fellowship program.

All stages of the Indian Health Pathway include activities in academic monitoring, cultural competence, experiential/service learning, research, and professional development.

This pathway through the full educational career has led to much higher rates of high school graduation and college attendance for those who participate compared to those who don't, not to mention the subsequent high rate of enrollment in medical school.

Training American Indian physicians is important not only to the trainees, but even more so to the communities that they return to serve. High rates of mortality and morbidity are endemic in American Indian communities, in large measure because medical care is scarce. Under these circumstances, it is hard to understand why the federal Title VII program that supported the four National Centers of Excellence devoted to American Indian education had its funding eliminated by the Government Accounting Office. As so often happens, those who have least are cut the most, damaging both their own lives and America's vision of a just and equitable society.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 12:42 PM | Permalink

Peter Levine, in his "blog for civic renewal", gives the text of a speech he gave in November to "the annual convention of the grantees of Learn & Serve America, the federal program that supports community service tied to education."

He had "been asked to speak about the measurement and assessment of service-learning." He does so by discussing three points:

* The definition of civic engagement

* The importance of measurement and assessment

* The importance of service-learning

This is one of the most thoughtful pieces I've read recently. I won't try to reproduce Levine's arguments, but I would like to note his thoughts on a definition of "civic engagement":" any ethical way of addressing a public or common problem."

This is a lot simpler than the CIC's definition,

"Engagement is the partnership of university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good."

because it's not directly focused on the various manifestations of engagement in higher education and it doesn't explicitly include the notion of reciprocal partnership. But it's an attractive way of phrasing the general concept.

Levine's speech is interesting to read in context with the findings of the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), reported in today's Chronicle of Higher Education. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i13/13a03901.htm

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 9:08 AM | Permalink

Earlier this week I attended a lunch discussion on Student Engagement Best Practices. This was the first in a series of Campus Conversations, organized by the Student Engagement and Leadership Initiative in the Office for Student Affairs and designed to bring the university community together to discuss and share ideas that will create a more engaged campus.

The focus on the university as community was emphasized in the event flier: "At this large institution, there are many creative and meaningful ways for students to be engaged. In the classroom, on campus or in the community, students are developing skills to enhance their ability to be leaders and active citizens. Come share your ideas and learn what others are doing on the U of M Twin Cities campus." About 30 staff and a few faculty engaged in a lively exchange of ideas.

One theme that struck me was the importance of getting students engaged where they are, taking advantage of what they already do and are interested in. It connected with an article I had recently read, "Public Work at Colgate: An Interview with Adam Weinberg", written by David Brown, co-editor of the Higher Education Exchange, in the 2006 issue (pp. 12–26) of that journal published by the Kettering Foundation. Weinberg describes the process by which Colgate moved its residence halls from the "professionalized model, where people solve problems for students", to a "public work" model in which "students think of themselves as members of a community who have a responsibility to work with others to create a healthy living environment."

Weinberg says "[W]e need to capture all the educational moments. Civic education takes place in campus controversies, residential halls, student organizations, campus planning, and a range of other places. Finally, we are challenging people to move beyond values. We need to make sure that our students have the skills and habits to act on their values." His account of making the residence halls places to teach, learn, and practice "the arts of democracy" is well worth reading.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 10:16 AM | Permalink

New things have happened regarding a couple of the previous posts to this blog.

First, on March 13 I wrote about the work of Prof. Ann Markusen and graduate assistant Amanda Johnson in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs on Artists' Centers. Prof. Markusen and a different set of collaborators, in California, have just published a related study entitled Crossover: How Artists Build Careers Across Commercial, Nonprofit and Community Work. The study may be read on, or downloaded from, the web site.

They asked about 1800 artists (visual, music, dance) in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas how they divided their time between the commercial, non-profit, and community sectors. To their surprise, they found that "Large numbers of artists split their arts time among the three sectors." Each sector provided different and important rewards:

Commercial sector:
* understanding of artistic and professional conventions
* broader visibility
* networking that enhances artwork opportunities
* higher rates of return

Not-for-profit sector:
* aesthetic satisfaction
* exploring new media
* collaborating with artists across media
* satisfying emotional needs

Community sector:
* enriching community life
* affirming cultural identity
* pursuing political and social justice goals

This study, like the previous one, provides invaluable insights into how the arts—and academic study thereof—engage with the various sectors of society.

Second, the same day (November 7) I wrote the blog Neighbors about the Cedar-Riverside community that abuts the West Bank campus of the University of Minnesota, The Minnesota Daily published an article reporting that the City of Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development had established a Bridging Communities Grant Program, and asked the U's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs to design and administer the program. The goal is to resolve issues of prejudice against immigrants, and to "encourage immigrant and non-English speaking resident involvement in neighborhood groups". Such three-way community-university-city partnerships are an encouraging development.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 10:14 AM | Permalink

Yesterday I went to a lecture entitled "New Bioscience Frontiers in a Flat World", given by William Hoffman.

As described on his web site, Hoffman "is the founding executive director of the Minnesota Biomedical and Bioscience Network (MBBNet), an Internet gateway to the state’s life sciences and health care industries and research centers. Based at the University of Minnesota, MBBNet provides open global access to 1,400 regional companies, laboratories, institutes, and support and service organizations. Hoffman has created a series of interactive, online global maps that chart developments in the biosciences including human embryonic stem cell research and policy, bioscience clusters or hubs of activity, and biotech crop production."

His talk showed how to use these maps to identify locations around the world where biomedical and biotechnological activity is clustered (this world is spiky, not flat), and how the Internet enables collaborations between far-separated institutions (Yale-Fudan, Minnesota-Zurich). In response to questions, Hoffman demonstrated the MBBNet directory, which enables search of 1400 Minnesota companies and University of Minnesota research labs for particular topics and technologies. Powered by Google and boasting impressive access statistics, it's a remarkably fast and powerful way to find common interests, needed expertise, and potential partners.

As I've said numerous times on this blog, technology transfer is an important form of public engagement. MBBNet is an innovative and useful mechanism for facilitating partnerships, and is an important contributor to the University of Minnesota's public engagement mission.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 10:59 AM | Permalink

People often assume that the University of Minnesota Twin Cities consists of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses, and that the two are separated by the Mississippi River. In fact, the UM-TC consists of three locations: Saint Paul, Minneapolis East Bank, and Minneapolis West Bank; and it's the East and West Banks that are separated by the river. The West Bank campus houses the social science and arts departments of the College of Liberal Arts, the Law School, the Carlson School of Management, the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and Wilson Library (where the U Libraries has its headquarters). Most of us who have been around the U for a while manage to keep that much in our heads.

We tend to forget that we have other neighbors on the West Bank (also known as Cedar-Riverside, after the intersection of its two main streets), including the Riverside Campus of the Fairview-University Medical Center, Augsburg College, and the largest Somali population outside of Somalia along with many other East African, Asian, and Hispanic immigrants. The West Bank has for many years been a locus of settlement for immigrant groups, the Somalis being the latest. (See my June 2, 2006 blog "Public History as Theater".)

I was reminded of these other neighbors yesterday, when we had a get-acquainted meeting between the new President of Augsburg, Paul Pribbenow; the President of the University of Minnesota, Bob Bruininks; and several administrators from each institution who are concerned with community relations and civic engagement. Augsburg has a long-standing tradition of focusing on public education and immigrant issues, and the University of Minnesota also has numerous engagement initiatives on the West Bank, so we identified many possibilities for collaborative work. These range from service-learning and community service to making the Cedar light rail station more hospitable.

But we at the U can sometimes forget how big our footprint is. We're currently planning a new Fairview-University Children's Hospital on the West Bank, which will have a major impact on the neighborhood: land use, housing, traffic and transportation, population density, etc. The new hospital will be a great addition to the children's health capabilities of the Twin Cities; but I have the sense that the planning—which thus far has mainly involved the medical community and the U's Academic Health Center—has not yet taken much into account the concerns of our West Bank neighbors. I hope that will change, going forward.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 9:53 AM | Permalink

This morning's Star Tribune has an article about the decision of the University of Minnesota's Department of Theater Arts to keep a production of Dario Fo's The Pope and the Witch on this year's schedule. As summarized by the play's director, Robert Rosen, on the department's web site

With The Pope and the Witch, Dario Fo creates a world turned upside down. 

The Pope is in crisis. 100,000 poor, starving orphans from third world countries are arriving in St. Peter’s Square in what he believes is a plot by fanatical birth control activists to embarrass him and the church.  He becomes, literally, frozen with anxiety. There begins a surreal journey, guided by a healer from Burundi, into a world of poverty, drug addicts, Mafia hit men and illicit commerce.

Faced with these realities the Pope takes an unpopular stand: The man of great power takes the side of those who have no power.  He puts out a revolutionary Encyclical and the world explodes into anarchy.

Absurd, grotesque frightening, and thought provoking, The Pope And The Witch will simultaneously amuse, engage and provide perspective.  A fusion of comedy and vital reality.

The play has provoked strong protests from some Catholic organizations and their spokespersons. From the Star Tribune article:

The New York-based Catholic League, whose president, Bill Donohue, calls the play "pure hate speech," has criticized its appearance at theaters that receive public money from the National Endowment for the Arts. Demonstrations have been held at several colleges where the play has been staged.

Colleen Perfect of St. Paul, a representative of Catholic Parents Online, said [via email]
"Tolerating this type of hate is giving license to defamation ... One can only imagine what kind of upheaval would take place on campus if the U staged a play smearing Mohammed.

Rosen explains: "I chose this play because it is political. It takes a stand on issues in the forefront of our daily lives. It is funny, irreverent and to the point.  It was written, after all, by an epic clown, the foremost political farceur of our time. Some people will disagree with the message and still others with the means with which the message is conveyed.  Students of the theatre must learn to use their art form to express their views of the world in which they live."

University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks met with Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul to discuss the U's intended performance, and (through U spokesman Daniel Wolter) averred that "the academic and artistic value of the satirical play ... is stronger than Catholic claims that it's blasphemous." Appropriately, several forums will be held at the U next year that will offer opportunities to debate ideas about the play,

This is the proper outcome. Colleges and universities, while wary of offending various groups, need to remember that their prime role in society is to critically examine received wisdom and existing intellectual and sociopolitical structures. Critical examination demands fair opportunities for both challenge and response. Only in this way can higher education fulfill its responsibilitiy to engage with important public issues.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 8:54 AM | Permalink

I live in Saint Paul, in a building that's on the National Historical Register. The upper four floors are condominiums, the ground floor and basement are commercial space. The big news is that we now have a bookstore in the basement. Not just any bookstore, but one owned by Garrison Keillor. With his usual verbal cleverness, he's named the bookstore "Common Good Books". Good books serving the common good.

That's one connection to the public engagement theme of this blog. The other is that there is a real partnership between the public Keillor and the University of Minnesota. He was an undergraduate here in the 1960s, and edited the student literary paper, then called the Ivory Tower. (He recruited Patricia Hampl to its staff.) In recent years, Keillor has been an important spokesman for the University and for the importance of public higher education. What's not so well known is that Keillor has taught—for free—a creative writing course, "Composition of Comedy" in 2001 and again in 2005 and 2006. The links at the end of this blog point to Minnesota Daily articles about this effort. It's clear from these stories that the benefits are mutual, which is always the desired outcome of a public engagement partnership.

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2005/11/23/66299
http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/01/24/66676

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 3:20 PM | Permalink

This week's Chronicle of Higher Education has a Point of View article by Rebecca F. Goldin, criticizing The Washington Monthly College Rankings in the September 2006 issue of the magazine. Goldin, an associate professor of mathematical sciences at George Mason University, raises some useful points, but her critique has a couple of unfortunate flaws.

A minor but annoying point: Goldin distorts the The Washington Monthly (WM) article when she frequently (five times in her commentary) asserts that the WM ratings are based largely on the "patriotic" contributions of colleges and universities. In fact, the word is used only once in the WM article, with a slightly ironic tone: 'Adults can see how "patriotic" their alma maters are.' (Quotes in original.) There may at one time have been a teaser, "How patriotic is your college?", on the WM web site, but it's not there now.

In fact, the expressed rationale behind the WM rankings is considerably more nuanced:

"...when colleges are doing what they should, they benefit all of us. They undertake vital research that drives our economy. They help Americans who are poor to become Americans who will prosper. And they shape the thoughts and ethics of the young Americans who will soon be leading the country. It's worth knowing, then, which individual colleges and universities fit the bill. And so, to put The Washington Monthly College Rankings together, we started with a different assumption about what constitutes the "best" schools. We asked ourselves: What are reasonable indicators of how much a school is benefiting the country? We came up with three: how well it performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well it does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well it promotes an ethic of service to country."

More fundamentally, Goldin seeems to defend the ivory tower view of the purposes of higher education while impugning the motivations of WM. She writes

"Furthermore, the magazine's rhetoric veils a frightening (but popular) point of view. No longer are academic excellence, the advancement of human knowledge, and the preservation and proliferation of ideas sufficient reasons for a university to exist — or sufficient demonstration of benefit to the country. By claiming to measure patriotism, The Washington Monthly garners an immediate base of popular support, useful in the world of demand-driven journalism."

Some of Goldin's criticisms are solid: The use of metrics that privilege larger institutions, the confusing mix of absolute numbers and percentages, the use of enrollment in ROTC as a good measure of contribution, the assumption that scence and engineering are more beneficial to the country than other areas of study, etc.

The most interesting point for discussion, in my mind, is the assumption that "academic excellence, the advancement of human knowledge, and the preservation and proliferation of ideas [are] sufficient reasons for a university to exist — or sufficient demonstration of benefit to the country." Well, yes and no. I would contend that they are necessary but not always sufficient. It will often, if not always, be the case that teaching and scholarship are better, and contribute more, if they are practiced with an explicit recognition of their importance for society and with an eye to educating students for engaged citizenship.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 4:45 PM | Permalink

An important initiative these days is to try to interest students from underrepresented groups in careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Mathematics is key to all of these fields, so it is particularly noteworthy that the University of Minnesota Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications will host the Blackwell-Tapia Conference, the premier national event for underrepresented mathematical sciences researchers on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3 and 4. The UM press release continues:

This is the fourth in a series of bi-annual conferences honoring David Blackwell and Richard Tapia, two seminal figures who inspired a generation of African-American, Native American and Latino/Latina students to pursue careers in mathematics. This conference is designed to carry forward their work, informing the next generation of students about career opportunities in mathematics and providing a chance for them to network with other students and with mathematical scientists who play a leadership role in their communities.

To kick off the conference, Tapia will entertain more than 100 area high school students with his “Math is Cool� presentation.... Tapia was the first Hispanic elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering. As part of the presentation he will explain how he used math to improve the sport of BMX bicycle racing and how he defeated “the curse of lane eight.� Also, math major Josef Sifuentes will show how he combined his artistic and mathematical sides to create a psychedelic music video. Conference highlights include talks by William Massey and Erhan Cinlar of Princeton University, Illya Hicks of Texas A&M University, Mark Lewis of Cornell University, Ricardo Cortez of Tulane University; poster presentations; panel discussions on career opportunities in mathematics and the recruitment and retention of a diverse mathematics faculty.

A high point of the meeting will be the awarding of 2006 Blackwell-Tapia prize to Massey for his outstanding achievements in queuing theory, stochastic networks, modeling of communications systems, and for increasing diversity in mathematical sciences.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 8:29 PM | Permalink