Academics in Action! A Model for Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Service

The theory, vision, and implementation of a multidisciplinary collaborative approach to social learning

The academy is often described as an ivory tower, isolated from the community surrounding it. Presenting the theory, vision, and implementation of a socially engaged program for the Department of Human and Organizational Development (HOD) in Peabody's College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, Academics in Action! describes a more integrated model wherein students and faculty work with communities, learn from them, and bring to bear findings from theory and research to generate solutions to community problems.

Offering examples of community-engaged theory, scholarship, teaching, and action, Academics in Action! describes the nuanced structures that foster and support their development within a research university. Theory and action span multiple ecological levels from individuals and small groups to organizations and social structures. The communities of engagement range from local neighborhoods and schools to arenas of national policy and international development.

Reflecting the unique perspectives of research faculty, practitioners, and graduate students, Academics in Action! documents a specific philosophy of education that fosters and supports engagement; the potentially transformative nature of academic work for students, faculty, and the broader society; and some of the implications and challenges of action-oriented efforts in light of dynamics such as income inequality, racism, and global capitalism. This edited volume chronicles teaching, research, and community action that influences both inside and outside the classroom as well as presents dimensions of a participatory model that set such efforts into action.

Sandra L. Barnes is Professor in the Department of Human and Organizational Development and the School of Divinity at Vanderbilt University. Her numerous books include Live Long and Prosper: How Black Megachurches Address HIV/AIDS and Poverty in the Age of Prosperity Theology (Fordham), Black Megachurch Culture: Models for Education and Empowerment, The Cost of Being Poor: A Comparative Study of Life in Poor Urban Neighborhoods in Gary, Indiana, and the co-edited Black Sexualities: Probing Passions, Problems, and Policies.

Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein is a fifth year PhD candidate in the Community Research and Action program at Vanderbilt University and has conducted criminal justice and public health relevant research for seven years.

Bernadette Doykos is a Doctoral Candidate in the Dept. of Human & Organizational Development at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.

Nina C. Martin and Allison McGuire are Lecturers in the Department of Psychology & Human Development at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.