Field Collaborations

Engaged Scholarship, including community-based research and teaching, necessitates collaboration, reciprocity, and effective communication among faculty members, staff, and community-based social impact organizations. As a leader in engaged liberal arts, Swarthmore College (and the Lang Center) is committed to advancing the mission of engaged scholarship and collaboration within the College and on a national stage.

To pursue this vision, we strive to learn from exemplary engaged scholarship models and best practices at other colleges and universities, nationally and internationally. Concurrently, we participate in dialogues and allocate resources to co-lead and support field-level programs and initiatives. These efforts are essential to fostering an environment within the broader higher education community where engaged scholars can thrive.

Outlined below are some of our engagements -- both current and past -- at regional and national levels, wherein we have provided critical thought and action leadership and contributed to the advancement of the field of engaged scholarship:

• Annual Engaged Scholarship Symposium
  Our annual Symposium has evolved from a one-day event primarily involving core Swarthmore stakeholders into a multi-day nationwide symposium. The Symposium has enabled collaboration with 29 institutions nationwide and four higher education networks. The participating institutions have ranged from Ivy-Leagues to public and private colleges and universities, tribal colleges, and community colleges.
• Network Membership and Leadership
  The Lang Center is actively engaged in various regional and national networks, contributing to developing and disseminating engaged scholarship practices. This includes active membership in Campus Compact, Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC), the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, Partners for Campus Community Engagement (PCCE), Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND), Project Pericles, and other influential networks. Through these memberships, we contribute to the field’s growth and continuously learn and implement best practices in our initiatives.
• Strategic partnership with Campus Compact
  From 2020-2024, the Lang Center was a strategic partner of Campus Compact’s Engaged Scholars Initiative (ESI). ESI is a national cohort of early-career engaged scholars chosen from Campus Compact’s more than 700 college and university members. The Lang Center helped launch the inaugural national cohort of Campus Compact's Engaged Scholars Initiative (ESI) in 2021, and remained a strategic partner until 2024.