Civic learning and democratic engagement (CLDE) work has become a central piece of higher education's mission, woven in daily tasks. This chapter explores how the community engagement professional (CEP) role can be reimagined across... more
Civic learning and democratic engagement (CLDE) work has become a central piece of higher education's mission, woven in daily tasks. This chapter explores how the community engagement professional (CEP) role can be reimagined across institutions and the opportunities, challenges, and next steps for moving forward. The strategic positioning of CEP's roles within the institution, provides opportunity and crucial pathways for college student development. Higher education has the opportunity to change national discourse on CLDE work and model how institutions play a significant role in building a democratic society.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This research study analyzed the role of CEPs in strategic planning processes by examining the use of the civic action plan (Campus Compact, 2018). To ascertain whether institution-wide planning efforts around civic and community... more
This research study analyzed the role of CEPs in strategic planning processes by examining the use of the civic action plan (Campus Compact, 2018). To ascertain whether institution-wide planning efforts around civic and community engagement create new opportunities for CEPs to take on institutional leadership roles, we interviewed CEPs who were involved in creating civic action plans at their campuses and examined their role in plan development, the competencies most utilized in that process, and the most important support for building competencies and framing the change process. These interviews gave new insights into how strategic planning processes have contributed to the growth, development, and elevation of the role of CEPs on campus and the types of support structures they found valuable. The conclusions will inform future planning work by CEPs and support for that work by organizations. We make preliminary recommendations for change, process accountability, development, and ...
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A qualitative approach, which excels at providing insight into the causal explanations for phenomena (Maxwell, 2013), was used to fulfill the immediate project objective. To that end, a modified nominal-group technique (mNGT) was used,... more
A qualitative approach, which excels at providing insight into the causal explanations for phenomena (Maxwell, 2013), was used to fulfill the immediate project objective. To that end, a modified nominal-group technique (mNGT) was used, similar to Wiggins, et al. (2020). Each researcher agreed to host one of three different mNGT panels, composed of assessment professionals who subscribed to the SAAL listserv. The needs-assessment subcommittee members sought and received approval from the institutional review boards (IRB) of their respective colleges or universities before undertaking the research; Lamar University’s (IRB-FY22-215) approval was used to advertise the needs-assessment process and recruit professionals willing to serve on the mNGT panels, while West Texas A&M University’s (IRB-2022.10.0005) approval was used to hold the sessions and collect qualitative data.