Recognizing the salience appropriately assigned to faculty culture by the Civic Responsibility Assessment Tool, PSU has created the conditions for a vital exchange about how higher education can foster democracy and a sense of civic responsibility among students. Over three hundred faculty and community partners participated in a breakfast series that featured faculty, community partners, and other scholars from outside PSU. We met monthly to discuss and debate such topics as “”Values Formation in Higher Education,”" “”Martin Luther King, Jr s Teachings of Nonviolence and Service: Implications for Civic Engagement;”" “”Ethics, Leadership, and Service: Creation of a Just Society;”" and “”Scholarship of Community Outreach.”" In addition, several study circles were formed where faculty across a wide range of disciplines discussed theories of democracy and multiculturalism using the writings of Benjamin Barber, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Briand, and Thomas Ehrlich among others.

Many of the faculty development activities take place through Community-University Partnerships at the Center for Academic Excellence. The Center s location in the Office of Academic Affairs legitimizes and reinforces the academic value of these activities creating a vibrant culture of engagement.

Contact: askunst {at} pdx(.)edu