Do No Harm: Understanding Reciprocity in University-Community Partnerships

As higher education struggles to prove its ongoing relevance within the broader society in the face of increasing costs and little visible accountability, community engagement has emerged as one strategy to demonstrate that relevance. Such engagement is difficult and often messy, however, and structural differences among universities and the communities they serve may make reciprocal relationships difficult to achieve. The purpose of this study was to understand how reciprocity is constructed in university-community partnerships and to determine whether that reciprocity is necessary for effective engagement. Implications for faculty, students and community partners who promote and engage in these relationships were also examined. Data were gathered from 42 participants through semi-structured interviews, survey results, and document analysis. The study found that when benefits outweigh risks and harm, when participants are both teaching and learning, and if the relationship is characterized by clear expectations, good communication and consistency, then partnerships are reciprocal. Harm was an outcome in only one case; even that case was reciprocal despite that outcome. Success, while obtained in every case studied, was a simpler calculus: if the mission and goals of the organization or individual were met, if positive relationships were built, if expected services were provided, and if some learning occurred, partnerships were considered successful. Department of Leadership, Foundations and Policy Curry School of Education University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia APPROVAL OF THE DISSERTATION This dissertation, Do No Harm: Understanding Reciprocity in University-Community Partnerships, has been approved by the Graduate Faculty of the Curry School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 'er Name (insert name) DEDICATION To Francis, whose support means everything, and to Evalina and Francesco, who will always be my best work.

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