ABSTRACT
Community-engaged scholarship is rooted in and driven by our individual and intersecting identities, particularly three facets of an engaged scholar’s identity—the personal, professional, and the civic. Motivations for carrying out and sustaining a community-engaged scholarly agenda are found in other aspects of identity, such as gender, values, professional roles, and community and group affiliations. The center of the engaged scholar’s identity is a scholarship that commands recognition of personal and communal values over the narrow, academic-centric self-interests of traditional scholarship. This newer form of scholarship recognizes community-based expertise and is propelled by a desire for all people to realize their highest potential. Experiential education is necessary for the development of successful students and adults, and the authors need to be able to utilize scientific study (research, discovery, and inquiry) to address community problems in concert with stakeholders, community members, and those individuals directly impacted by the area of concern.
