The Role of Civic & Community Engagement in our Cities–Past, Present, and Future
Guided by his recent book, In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower, Davarian L. Baldwin will lead us in conversation about how the higher education model of civic and community engagement has and (in many cases) hasn’t served its mission to address systemic inequities.
Davarian’s deep work with community-based leaders and neighborhood organizations that are directly impacted by universities and their development within our cities provides a context for dialogue, reflection, and planning to address harm that has occurred and identify what is needed going forward. As Davarian will share, in the current moment he sees a profound mismatch between the modest educational practices of community engagement and higher education’s massive political and economic impacts on urban life, but a comprehensive and integrated civic and community engagement approach is a promising path forward.
Later in the session, Shalom Staub, Director of UCLA’s Center for Community Engagement, will share how he and a group of faculty and staff are using Davarian’s book to reflect on UCLA’s historical impact on the city of Los Angeles and inform their work as they contribute to UCLA’s community engagement strategy.
Speakers
Davarian L. Baldwin
Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Founding Director, Smart Cities Research Lab at Trinity College. He is the author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering our Cities.
Shalom Staub
Director of UCLA’s Center for Community Engagement