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Expand Community-Engaged Academic Programs and Elevate This Engagement to a Signature Program at Hofstra
Community engagement is collaboration with external communities and stakeholders for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, experience, opportunity, and resources. It reflects Hofstra’s role in creating social change and enhancing democratic practices for an equitable and just world. Giving students direct experience with issues they are studying in the classroom, equips them to analyze and address problems in the community. It gives recognition to the importance of place and the responsibility of the University as a member of a particular local community and fulfills an important aspect of our civic purpose. Effective community partnerships enhance collaboration among students, faculty, administrators, and those outside the University. Community engagement prepares students for meaningful lives and careers.
Long Island is a region of innovation and opportunity, yet also one that has historically experienced political fragmentation, segregation, and inequality. As a major university in this region, Hofstra must play a key role in contributing to the region’s dynamism and ensuring that all communities are served and empowered by it. To that end, we strive to maintain long-lasting relationships with the organizations, leaders, and school districts seeking to build a better Long Island and to engage our neighbors in ongoing conversations about local needs and opportunities. As we renew and deepen our local and regional engagement, we also seek to expand our impact by building relationships with communities at the national and global scales.
Community engagement must be grounded in the qualities of reciprocity, respect, shared authority, and co-creation of goals and outcomes. We listen and follow, as much as we speak and lead. We choose our forms of engagement deliberately and flexibly, to align the University’s resources and broader strategic plan with emergent opportunities to create effective partnerships.
Implementation Steps
2.A We will increase the University’s engagement in the community by:
- Incorporating community engagement into courses and offering academic credit for that work.
- Enhancing the depth, quality, and form of that engagement.
- Communicating widely about that engagement.
2.B We will grow and monitor community engagement by:
- Creating a centralized portal to facilitate, track, and assess active community engagement programs, courses, and research.
- Appointing a Community Engagement Advisory Board with representation from across campus and the community.
- Launching interdisciplinary scholarly, creative, and clinical initiatives that respond to the needs of local, national, and global communities.
- Consulting regularly with community partners to understand emergent issues.
2.C We will build a Continuing Education program that supports the workforce needs of Long Island and beyond by:
- Developing curricula to assist those looking for new skills or educational enrichment.
- Offering just-in-time credentials to adult learners.
- Marketing the Continuing Education program throughout Long Island.
Representative assessment measures:
- Creation of a portal and tracking system for Hofstra’s community-engaged initiatives and programs.
- Creation of regular, consultative processes with community partners to identify emergent community needs.
- Growth of the number and type of community-engaged activities.
- Utilization of the knowledge of community needs, particularly in the Village of Hempstead and in Uniondale, to create learning experiences for students for which they can receive academic credit.
- Appointment of a leader of Continuing Education and enrollment.
