"To Serve a Larger Purpose"

How to return democracy to the heart of a university's mission

“"'To Serve a Larger Purpose' offers a series of cogent arguments for using building democracy as the central purpose of institutional civic engagement. The contributors draw on a rich literature, and the chapters are cohesive, building on and sometimes challenging each other's points; they read as a continuing conversation. The reader is left with an overview of what it means for an institution to be civically engaged, the knowledge that has accrued in the field up to this point, and what working within a democratic framework means within a contemporary context." -Cathy Burack, Senior Fellow for Higher Education at the Center for Youth and Communities in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University”

"The various chapters in this volume represent the viewpoints of many recognized contributors to the growth of this field as well as some new voices. Guided by the careful, but provocative framing offered by the editors, the book holds form while providing an abundant 'democratic flowering of civic engagement' through which the two challenges that Saltmarsh and Hartley outlined are actively addressed... [T]his book offers an extensive review of strategies and examples of the kind of democratic engagement the authors describe. The diverse backgrounds and visions of the body of articles presented add richness to the discussion surrounding the future of civic engagement and service-learning on college campuses." Michigan Journal for Community Service Learning "...provide[s] perspective on the history and prospects of one of the most energetic reform movements in higher education over the last thirty years: strengthening civic learning and community involvement by students, faculty, and institutions." Mary Taylor Huber, Change, June 2012

John Saltmarsh is Director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston and is on the faculty of the Higher Education Administration Doctoral Program in the Department of Leadership in Education in the College of Education and Human Development.

Matthew Hartley is Associate Professor and Chair of Higher Education at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

How to return democracy to the heart of a university

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