ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the development of academia with the establishment of the land grant institutions. It highlights how projects may move between and include more than one relationship type. The book examines some Capstone courses that partner with correctional facilities and allow university students to engage directly with people experiencing incarceration, thereby contributing to community reintegration and overall community sustainability. It provides a narrative of the process by which important research partnerships develop, and how these relationships yield valuable lessons that inform evolving research methodologies as well as blur the line between "successful" and "failed" research. The book describes an ability to move beyond agreements in principle or formal statements of mutual interest to a more nuanced appreciation of practice and addresses challenges to the viability of potentially fragile inter-institutional relationships.
