ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an overview of the historical, philosophical, and theological foundations of Christian higher education and its associated professional networks. It traces Evangelical and Catholic approaches to community engagement across three program types: co-curricular, curricular, and degree. The book then presents a case study of an interdisciplinary community outreach program at Campbell University “designed to highlight and harmonize previously distinct community engagement projects and to conceptually frame the projects as enactments of personal calling and coherent organizational commitment”. It also describes how the University of Dayton has activated the institution’s “inherent creativity, capacity for transdisciplinarity, and commitment to iterative progress” through the creation of the Growth Education Mindset, a “collaborative hands-on ‘test lab’ that provides spaces for students, faculty, staff, and regional partners to prototype new teaching and learning models for servant-leadership and social innovation”.
