Issue 26(2)
Creating
Campus Community: In Search of Ernest Boyer's Legacy.
(2002). William M. McDonald
and associates, Jossey-Bass. 200 pp., $30.00, (paperback), ISBN
# 0-7879-5700-3.
Review
by: Nancy DeLaet
Academic
Advisor, College of Computing, Integrated Engineering & Technology
Southern Utah
University
"In sum, I feel that I am in
community when I feel seen, known, and respected - when I am taken
seriously and appreciated, not just for the function I perform
but for who I am as a person" (p. 183). For many, the feeling
of community, as described here by Parker J. Palmer, is elusive.
In Creating Campus Community: In Search of Ernest Boyer's
Legacy , authors from five diverse institutions share their
successes, failures and on-going challenges in establishing what
Palmer refers to as "a capacity for connectedness" (p. 186).
Anyone unfamiliar with Ernest Boyer's
contributions to the idea of community in higher education (1987)
will benefit from this book's ability to accurately disseminate
the six primary principles characteristic of a thriving college
campus. Additionally, readers will also learn from the demonstrative
efforts of students, faculty, staff and administrators on their
journeys toward this goal.
Although some chapters are more abstract
in terms of aspirations, theories and the usual clichés, practical
examples can indeed be found. Thus, the text ultimately lends
itself to becoming a modest reference volume.
Particularly engaging is William
McDonald's analysis of what community means from a student's perspective.
How authentic are students' desires to be connected? Are they
simply expecting to remain dependent on those in authority to
take care of them? McDonald offers a comprehensive description
of the College and University Community Inventory (CUCI), detailing
its inception, content, implementation and conclusions. He rightly
points out that the notion of "community" differs according to
each person and as such, three influencing factors are studied
in terms of practices and relationships: regional location, institutional
size, and Carnegie Classification. This reviewer appreciated McDonald's
subsequent comments that addressed how the survey should be implemented
for better results in the future.
With the
increasing pressure to recruit and retain students, not to mention
a more sustained motivation to feel vested in the campus community,
all campus constituencies are called upon to find innovative ways
to develop quality in higher education. This book provides tangible
and worthwhile examples of how institutions address this daunting
mandate. Readers whose strengths lie in taking an idea and exploiting
its applications will devour these pages.
Reference
Boyer,
E. L. (1987). Campus Life: In Search of Community . Princeton
, NJ
: Princeton
University
Press.
