Boundary spanning leadership among community-engaged faculty: An exploratory study of faculty participating in higher education community engagement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v6i2.69398Keywords:
boundary spanning, community engagement, faculty development, higher educationAbstract
The purpose of this study was to explore faculty members’ perceptions of their roles as boundary spanners, the expectations they have for professional competencies related to boundary spanning, and how these faculty were prepared to successfully perform in their boundary-spanning leadership roles. In the context of higher education community engagement, boundary spanning refers to the work that is critical in overcoming the divide between the institution and the community (Weerts & Sandmann, 2010). This study revealed boundary-spanning faculty leaders’ perceptions of their roles, competencies for effective community-engaged teaching and scholarship, and ways in which institutions may cultivate and support boundary-spanning leadership among current and future scholars and educators.
References
Adams, K. R. (2014). The exploration of community boundary spanners in university-community partnerships. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 18(3), 113-118.
Aldrich, H., & Herker, D. (1977). Boundary spanning roles and organization structure. Academy of Management Review, 2(2), 217-230.
Armitage, T., & Levac, L. (2015). Learning the development of community-engaged scholars through course-based learning: A student perspective. Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning, 1(1).
Austin A.E., McDaniels M. (2006). Preparing the professoriate of the future: Graduate student socialization for faculty roles. In J.C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, 21. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4512-3_8
Beere, C. A., Votruba, J. C., & Wells, G. W. (2011). Becoming an engaged campus: A practical guide for institutionalizing public engagement. John Wiley & Sons.
Berkey, B., Meixner, C., Green, P. M., & Eddins, E. A. (Eds.). (2018). Reconceptualizing Faculty Development in Service-Learning/Community Engagement. Stylus.
Blanchard, L. W., Hanssmann, C., Strauss, R. P., Belliard, J. C., Krichbaum, K., Waters, E., & Seifer, S. D. (2009). Models for faculty development: What does it take to be a community-engaged scholar? Metropolitan Universities, 20(2), 47-65.
Bloomgarden, A., & O'Meara, K. (2007). Faculty role integration and community engagement: Harmony or cacophony? Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 13(2), 5-18.
Bringle, R. B., Clayton, P. H., & Price, M. F. (2009). Partnerships in service-learning and civic engagement. Partnerships: A Journal of Service Learning & Civic Engagement, 1(1), 1-20.
Bruce, J. (2013). Service learning as a pedagogy of disruption. Journal of Developmental Education and Global Learning, 5(1), 33-47.
Buller, J. L. (2014). Change Leadership in Higher Education: A Practical Guide to Academic Transformation. Wiley.
Butin, D. (2015). Dreaming of justice: Critical service-learning and the need to wake up. Theory Into Practice, 54, 5-10. Education and Global Learning, 5(1), 33-47.
Clifford, D., & Petrescu, C. (2012). The keys to university–community engagement sustainability. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 23(1), 77-91.
College & University Engagement Initiative. (n.d.). Community Engagement: Defining Community Engagement. Retrieved from https://www.brown.edu/swearer/carnegie/about
Doberneck, D. M., Bargerstock, B. A., McNall, M., Van Egeren, L., & Zientek, R. (2017). Community engagement competencies for graduate and professional students: Michigan State University's approach to professional development. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 24(1), 122-142.
Dostilio, L. D. (Ed.). (2017). The community engagement professional in higher education: A competency model for an emerging field. Stylus.
Eatman, T.K. (2012). The arc of the academic career bends toward publicly engaged scholarship. In A. Gilvin, G.M. Roberts, & C. Martin (Eds.), Collaborative futures: Critical reflections on publicly active graduate education (pp. 25-48). The Graduate School Press.
Fitzgerald, H. E., Bruns, K., Sonka, S. T., Furco, A., & Swanson, L. (2012). The centrality of engagement in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(3), 7-28.
Friedman, R. A., & Podolny, J. (1992). Differentiation of boundary spanning roles: Labor negotiations and implications for role conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(1), 28-47. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393532
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
Gmelch, W. H., & Buller, J. L. (2015). Building academic leadership capacity: A guide to best practices. John Wiley & Sons.
Gavazzi, S. M., & Gee, E. G. (2018). Land-grant universities for the future: Higher education for the public good. JHU Press.
Jacoby, B. (2014). Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers, and lessons learned. Jossey-Bass.
Kezar, A., & Lester, J. (2011). Enhancing campus capacity for leadership: An examination of grassroots leaders in higher education. Stanford University Press.
Kline, C., Asadian, W., Godolphin, W., Graham, S., Hewitt, C., & Towle, A. (2018). From "Academic Projectitis" to partnership: Community perspectives for authentic community engagement in health professional education. Engaged Scholar Journal, 4(1), 79-96.
McReynolds, M., & Shields, E. (2015). Diving deep in community engagement: A model for professional development. Iowa Campus Compact.
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
Morrison, E., & Wagner, W. (2017). A community-engaged faculty typology: A self-referent approach to understanding faculty perspectives. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(2), 117-130.
Mull, C. (2016). A dissertation of boundary spanning actors within community engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 20(2), 157-162.
O'Meara, K. (1997). Rewarding faculty professional service. New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications, 17.
O'Meara, K. (2002). Uncovering the values in faculty evaluation of service as scholarship. Journal of Higher Education, 26(1), 57-80.
O'Meara, K. (2008a). Graduate education and community engagement. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 113, 27-42.
O'Meara, K. (2008b). Motivation for public scholarship and engagement: Listening to exemplars. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 12(1), 7-29.
O'Meara, K. (2011). Faculty civic engagement: New training, assumptions, and markets needed for the engaged American scholar. In J. Saltmarsh & M. Hartley (Eds.), "To serve a larger purpose": Engagement for democracy and the transformation of higher education (pp. 177-198). Temple University Press.
O'Meara, K., & Jaeger, A. J. (2006). Preparing future faculty for community engagement: Barriers, facilitators, models, and recommendations. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 11(4), 3-27.
Percy, S. L., Zimpher, N. L., & Brukardt, M. J. (Eds.). (2006). Creating a new kind of university: Institutionalizing community-university engagement. Anker Publishing.
Post, M.A., Ward, E., Longo, N.V., & Saltmarsh, J. (Eds.). (2016). Publicly engaged scholars: Next-generation engagement and the future of higher education. Stylus.
Ruben, B. D., De Lisi, R., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2018). Academic leadership development programs: Conceptual foundations, structural and pedagogical components, and operational considerations. Journal of Leadership Education, 17(3). https://doi.org/ 10.12806/V17/I3/A5
Ruona, W. E. (2005). Analyzing qualitative data. In R. A. Swanson & E. F. Holdton III (Eds.), Research in organizations: Foundations and methods of inquiry (pp. 233-263). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Saltmarsh, J., & Hartley, M. (Eds.). (2011). "To serve a larger purpose": Engagement for democracy and the transformation of higher education. Temple University Press.
Sandmann, L. R. (2009). Placing scholarly engagement "on the desk." Research University Engaged Scholarship Toolkit. Campus Compact.
Sandmann, L. R., & Jones, D. O. (Eds.). (2019). Building the field of higher education engagement: Foundational ideas and future directions. Stylus.
Sandmann, L. R., Jordan, J. W., Mull, C. D., & Valentine, T. (2014). Measuring boundary spanning behaviors in community engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 18(3), 83-96.
Sandmann, L. R., & Weerts, D. J. (2008). Reshaping institutional boundaries to accommodate an engagement agenda. Innovative Higher Education, 33(3), 181-196.
Shaffer, T. J., & Longo, N. V. (Eds.). (2019). Creating space for democracy: A primer on dialogue and deliberation in higher education. Stylus.
Suvedi, M., & Kaplowitz, M. (2016). What every extension worker should know: Core competency handbook. Michigan State University.
Tushman, M. L., & Scanlan, T. J. (1981). Boundary spanning individuals: Their role in information transfer and their antecedents. Academy of Management Journal, 24(2), 289-305.
Van Meerkerk, I., & Edelenbos, J. (2018). Boundary spanners in public management and governance: An interdisciplinary assessment. Edward Elgar.
Van Schyndel, T., Pearl, A. J., & Purcell, J. W. (2019). Extending our conceptualization of boundary-spanning leadership for community engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 23(2) 63-78.
Weerts, D. J., & Sandmann, L. R. (2010). Community engagement and boundary spanning roles at research universities. The Journal of Higher Education, 81(6), 702-727.
Welch, M. (2016). Engaging higher education: Purpose, platforms, and programs for community engagement. Stylus.
Welch, M., & Plaxton-Moore, S. (2017). Faculty development for advancing community engagement in higher education: Current trends and future directions. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 21(2), 131-165.
Welch, M., & Plaxton-Moore, S. (Eds.). (2019). The craft of community-engaged teaching and learning. Stylus.
Welch, M., & Saltmarsh, J. (2013). Current practice and infrastructure for campus center of community engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 17(4), 25-55.
Whitchurch, C. (2013). Reconstructing identities in higher education: The rise of "third space" professionals. Routledge.
Whitchurch, C. (2015). The rise of third space professionals: Paradoxes and dilemmas. In U. Teichler & W.K. Cummings (Eds.), Forming, recruiting and managing the academic profession (pp. 79-99). Springer.
Williams, P. (2012). Collaboration in public policy and practice: Perspectives on boundary spanners. The Policy Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter separate, additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in an institutional repository or on their website) after the publication of their work in the Engaged Scholar Journal.
- Please note that while every opportunity will be taken to ensure author participation in the editing process, due to time constraints final copyediting changes may be made before publication to ensure APA adherence throughout all submissions.