ABSTRACT
Field programming provides a strong model for dissolving the silos of knowledge and for bringing the work of an array of participants – local/community, scholarly, cross-disciplinary, and activist – into successful, generative, dynamic practice with one another. One factor in the programs’ individual and collective evolution has been the rapidly changing cultural contexts in which they operate. Community engagement is one of the particular components of field programming work that comingles many aspects when put into practice. One issue facing programs created by individual faculty members is the question of how to transition to new leadership so that the program will continue beyond the individual’s tenure. The question for interview participants probed the issue of what the directors and students felt ultimately was the true value of their programs. The original program leaders in our study range from three full professors to one Associate Professor and one Assistant Professor.
