Community Engagement in Christian Higher Education

"This is a book that the field of community engagement has needed for a long time. The diverse collection of chapters brings to light the rich and often neglected contribution that Christian colleges and universities make to the public good. Through synthesis of theological thought, informative case studies, and evaluations of community engagement programs and practices, the authors articulate how resources from inside the Christian intellectual tradition promote the democratic aims of higher education. Readers outside the tradition are given a glimpse into the transcendent purposes of community engagement uniquely found within Christian higher education. As such, the book offers important insights related to the scholarship of organizational identity—how organizations draw on their unique ""sagas"" or deeply held understandings of themselves in carrying out their mission. Engagement leaders from all kinds of colleges and universities will find the chapters valuable as they consider how their own institutional commitments and stories drive their approach to community engagement. This book is a ""go to"" resource for leaders and scholars who are interested in seeing examples of how community-engaged work is deeply woven into core institutional beliefs and practices. David J. Weerts, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA From their Protestant and Catholic roots, Christian colleges and universities are committed to providing a transformative student experience, one characterized by care and concern for each other and the broader common good of our communities, and cultivated in accordance with the Jesuit expression ad majorem dei gloriam: ""for the greater glory of God."" Rine and Quiñones’ volume on community engagement in Christian higher education makes important scholarly contributions in theory, research, and practice to an historical intellectual tradition, but just as critically, it offers a sense of hope, reminding the audience that the work of community engagement moves beyond endeavors of the mind to capture the heart and spirit as well. Practitioners and scholars who read its contents will recall what inspired them to do the complex work of community engagement in the first place—a deeper vocation, a sense of faith, and community transformation—all for the greater glory. Daniel J. Bergen, Marquette University, USA Religions and religious belief can often seem lofty and out of touch. This book brings together the best of religious views and practices as they relate to race, gender, political ideology, and socio-economic status. The chapters in this volume demonstrate that religion, instead of being an obstacle to community engagement, can serve as its fuel. The reader will come away with the inspiration to courageously engage with all of those around us—people like and unlike ourselves. Shirley V. Hoogstra, Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, USA"