University–Community Partnerships

< Go Back

University–Community Partnerships

Chair: Elena Delavega (University of Memphis)
APM Assignment: 2020–2022

Co-chair: Joshua Kirven (Winthrop University)
APM Assignment: 2020–2022

As higher education institutions enhance their civic engagement and community outreach to better connect their community service mission with their teaching and research missions, schools of social work should provide leadership and involvement derived from their legacy of community outreach and service that is tied to applied teaching and research. The literature of university–community partnerships, service learning, civic engagement, and the role in and impact of higher education on communities has grown significantly in recent years, and schools of social work need to connect with this academic dialogue within their institutions and discipline, as well as across institutions and disciplines. This Track also demonstrates social work education’s role in university–community partnerships through (1) curriculum and field education, especially community-based or agency-based field laboratory or group models and initiatives; (2) leadership and administration that reflect social work program leadership of or significant engagement in institutional community partnership centers, institutes, or projects; (3) evaluation and research that assess community partnerships or promote engaged scholarship that benefit community partners in measurable or demonstrable ways; and (4) social work pedagogy that develops and shares ideas and approaches for service learning, university civic engagement, interdisciplinary collaborations, and higher education that affect communities and their issues.