ABSTRACT
Common Vision that Transcends Major Differences in Context Though there are distinctive aspects of each of our profi led universities and the contexts in which they operate vary dramatically, there is also a common vision that transcends context. These profi led universities are pursuing similar strategies and programmatic approaches. Their social, political, and economic contexts do indeed shape signifi cant aspects of their civic engagement and social responsibility activities. At the same time, the commonalities transcend these differences in context. Virtually all of the participating institutions are committed to mobilizing their human and intellectual resources to address pressing needs of the societies in which they are located, and in the process to educate their students to be leaders for change. For the vast majority, civic engagement and social responsibility are at the very core of their mission-they are more than an area of emphasis. They support programs that are quite similar in their very nature and in the strategies that guide their conduct-programs of volunteer service, community service, applied research, community development projects, and conscious attention to the social impacts of institutional policies and practices. They maintain staffed offi ces that are charged with organizing and supporting their civic and social responsibility programs. Many invest signifi cantly in building and supporting the capabilities of their faculty to do this work.
