Institutional Advancement and Public Engagement in the STEM and Health Science Disciplines
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Institutional Advancement and Public Engagement in the STEM and Health Science Disciplines Received (in revised form): June 14, 2007
Victor A. Bloomfield is Associate Vice President for Public Engagement at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Michelle Wittcoff Kuhl is the Program Associate in the Office for Public Engagement and doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Abstract In today’s resource-scarce environment, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and health science disciplines must partner with institutional advancement offices to support two key components of research universities—research and graduate education. Framing the partnership in terms of societal needs helps advancement officers to attract resources to support important research and graduate education. Drawing on the collaborative process employed within STEM and health science colleges at the University of Minnesota, this paper outlines a framework for building and supporting new types of partnerships that Author’s Contact Address: Victor A. Bloomfield 110 Morrill Hall 100 Church Street SE Minneapolis MN, 55455, USA Phone: + 1 612 625 2268 Fax: + 1 612 626 8388 Email: [email protected]
benefit both society and universities’ graduate research and education missions. International Journal of Educational Advancement (2007) 7, 131–142. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ijea.2150054
Keywords: STEM and health sciences, public engagement, institutional advancement
Introduction Graduate education and research are key activities of research universities. The STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and health sciences typically form a large proportion of the research and graduate education portfolios of research universities. In this paper we discuss how public engagement relates to STEM research and graduate education, and how partnerships with institutional
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT. VOL.7 NO.2 131–142 © 2007 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD. ISSN 1744–6503 $30.00 www.palgrave-journals.com/ijea
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Victor A. Bloomfield and Michelle Wittcoff Kuhl
advancement can be formed to support these relationships. The Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Committee on Engagement in its draft 2005, Resource Guide and Recommendations for Defining and Benchmarking Engagement, defined engagement as “the partnership of university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good” (Committee on Institutional Cooperation, 2005). This definition emphasizes the importance of reciprocal partnership in true engagement,
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