In our post-affirmative action era, institutional leaders are scrambling to find new student recruitment strategies. Faculty recruitment and retention strategies to increase diversity present a similar challenge. Community engagement is an achievable and often overlooked solution to such problems plaguing higher education. 

For example, community-engaged learning has been shown to enhance the sense of belonging, academic success, and persistence of underrepresented students in higher education. Similarly, merit and promotion policies that recognize community engagement signal to faculty that their work is supported by their institution. 

I recently spoke with the Chronicle of Higher Education about institutional barriers that disincentivize scholars from engaging in research that has public-policy or community impact.



The key takeaway: University leaders should not only strategically invest in community engagement to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion goals for faculty and students, but to also change the public’s perception of higher education. A recent Gallup Poll found that confidence in U.S. higher education has fallen from 57% to 36% between 2015 and 2023. Community partnerships that are responsive to public demands can reconnect universities to society at a critical time, while increasing our visibility and reputation.  

In community,

Michael Rios

Vice Provost, Public Scholarship and Engagement  

As a professor and chair of economics, Kadee Russ has dedicated her career to investigating how international trade and macroeconomic policies impact people. Her most recent research unearths how the U.S. government, under pressure from industry associations representing infant formula producers, has created obstacles for countries trying to implement World Health Organization recommendations to promote breastfeeding.