ABSTRACT
This chapter documents the initial efforts of a group of teacher educators to address diversity issues in teacher education programs at UD. A number of studies point to the need to consider the influence of campus climate on the recruitment and retention of a diverse body of students. UD's awareness of the demographic imperative was heightened by its reaccreditation process in 2011 by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. According to Sturm et al., Most colleges and universities have undertaken pipeline initiatives and efforts to achieve greater diversity and participation and many have undertaken various forms of community engagement and service-learning in order to inculcate citizenship values and connect the institution to the community. The literature suggests a need for institutionalization of diversity outreach. A public scholarship framework seeks to engage communities both inside and outside university walls because 'full participation incorporates the idea that higher education institutions are rooted in and accountable to multiple communities'.
