Pursuing Social Justice through Place-Based Community Engagement: Cultivating Applied Creativity, Transdisciplinarity, and Reciprocity in Catholic Higher Education

Abstract

This article provides an example of how the traditions and values that have long underpinned the work of Christian higher education are of particular relevance to how Christian universities might partner with communities to address critical 21st-century challenges in groundbreaking new ways. The University of Dayton’s Catholic and Marianist mission and identity calls for community engagement throughout the university and student experience, which gives rise to numerous other efforts across campus. Here we discuss one such effort: a collaborative project that arose out of a space called the GEMnasium, an innovative initiative that provided a new location for place-based community engagement and foregrounded applied creativity and transdisciplinarity as valuable ingredients in fostering reciprocal partnerships in pursuit of social justice. Informed by Gelmon, Holland, and Spring’s (2018) conceptual framework for assessing civic engagement and service learning, we deployed a qualitative focus group approach to understand multiple stakeholders’ experiences in, and the impact of, a workforce enterprise initiative known as the “Freedom Enterprise.” Four thematic findings emerged from the data analysis process: (a) creating a shared community; (b) perseverance in building community; (c) faith-in-action/giving legs to the mission; and (d) uncertain long-term impact. After discussing the findings, we offer implications for community engagement in Christian higher education.

Notes

1 Consistent with the vision of community engagement as a reciprocal phenomenon that gives voice to all involved, we thought it was important to tell MVLA’s story with the same level of rich detail as we described the development of the GEMnasium (please see Appendix: The Miami Valley Life Alliance Story).