Dr. Jennifer W. Purcell and Colleagues Publish Guest Edited Special Issue on Boundary Spanning in Higher Education Community Engagement

The School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University congratulates Dr. Jennifer W. Purcell, professor of public administration, on the publication of a special issue of the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement (Volume 28, No. 3, October 2024) titled "Community-Engaged Scholars, Practitioners, and Boundary Spanners: Identity, Well-Being & Career Development.

KENNESAW, Ga. (Oct 18, 2024) — The Kennesaw State University School of Government and International Affairs celebrates Dr. Jennifer W. Purcell, professor of public administration, on the publication of the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement special issue on "Community-Engaged Scholars, Practitioners, and Boundary Spanners: Identity, Well-Being & Career Development" (Volume 28, No. 3, October 2024). The special issue is guest edited by an interdisciplinary team of researchers and scholar-practitioners including Dr. Purcell and colleagues Dr. Diane M. Doberneck, director for faculty and professional development of the Office for Public Engagement and Research at Michigan State University, Jeanne McDonald, associate director of the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez, associate professor of social work and human services in the Department of Social Work at Kennesaw State University. The project was also supported by David Brockway, 2024 alumnus of the Master of Science in International Policy Management program at KSU. The special issue explores concepts of identity, well-being, and career development to promote sustainable practices and address the promise and full potential of boundary spanners in higher education community engagement (HECE). Articles in the special issue present a series of research studies, projects with promise, and reflective essays that speak to these concepts and illustrate the collective efforts to advance the practice of boundary spanning in HECE while offering insight into the lived experiences of boundary spanners, students, and community partners.

The special issue was made possible in part through sources of competitive funding within Kennesaw State University award to Dr. Purcell that recognized the significance of the project. These include the Radow Institute for Social Equity 2024 Summer Research Fellowship and a 2023 Tenured Faculty Enhancement Program award, a highly competitive program funded by the President and Provost and administered through the Kennesaw State University Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (in partnership with the Kennesaw State University Office of Research). The multiple levels of support from Kennesaw State facilitated the realization of this special issue and demonstrate the university’s commitment to community engagement through the campus-community partnerships, community-engaged research, and community-engaged teaching and learning. Most importantly, the support reflects the university's commitment to the boundary-spanning faculty and professional staff who make this work possible.

The Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement (JHEOE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal. Its mission is to serve as the premier peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal to advance theory and practice related to all forms of outreach and engagement between higher education institutions and communities. JHEOE is open access and published through a partnership of the University of Georgia’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, Institute of Higher Education, and UGA Extension with support from the Engagement Scholarship Consortium.

The project’s initial call for proposals generated 69 abstract submissions. Of these proposals, 37 manuscripts were invited for submission, which resulted in 25 complete submissions that were sent for peer review. Through the external and editorial peer review process, 11 manuscripts were ultimately selected for this special issue.

The articles in the special issue can be accessed through this link.

FOREWORD

Foreword: Special Issue on Community-Engaged Scholars, Practitioners, and Boundary Spanners: Identity, Well-Being, and Career Development (pp. 1-6)                                                                                                         
David J. Weerts and Lorilee R. Sandmann

INTRODUCTION 

Introduction to the Special Issue on Community-Engaged Scholars, Practitioners, and Boundary Spanners: Identity, Well-Being, and Career Development (pp. 7–22)
Jennifer W. Purcell, Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez, Diane M. Doberneck, and Jeanne McDonald

RESEARCH ARTICLES

Assessing the Boundary-Spanning Roles of Cooperative Extension Professionals in Higher Education Community Partnerships (pp. 23–42)
Casey D. Mull and Jenny W. Jordan

Collective Impact as a Novel Approach to Seeding Collaboration for Boundary Spanning (pp. 43–58)
Cara Marie DiEnno, Victoria M. Atzl, Anna S. Antoniou, and Anne P. DePrince

PROJECTS WITH PROMISE

Feminist Community Engagement Disrupted: Pathways for Boundary Spanning and Engagement During Disruption (pp. 59–72)
Chelsea Wentworth, Diane M. Doberneck, Jessica V. Barnes-Najor, Mindy Smith, Jen Hirsch, and Mallet R. Reid

Spanning Boundaries and Transforming Roles: Broadening Extension’s Reach With OSU Open Campus and Juntos (pp. 73–82)
Emily N. Henry, Gina R. Galaviz-Yap, Jeff R. Sherman-Duncan, Amy W. Young, Didgette M. McCracken, Becky M. Munn, and Shannon Caplan

REFLECTIVE ESSAYS

A Call for “Insider” Community-Engaged Research: Considerations of Power Sharing, Impact, and Identity Development (pp. 83–96)
Jey Blodgett, Ray Wolf, Lincoln Luna, Emory Nabih Spence, Kali Pulanco, Kobe Natachu, and Shauna Tominey

Developing a Strategic “Container” to Support Boundary Spanning and Belonging Amongst Diverse Collaborators at a Land-Grant University (pp. 97–112)
Jonathan Garcia, Ashley Vaughn, César Arredondo Abreu, Jey Blodgett, Erika Carrillo, Ricardo Contreras, Frida Endinjok, Stephanie Grutzmacher, Kathy Gunter, S. Marie Harvey, Brianne Kothari, Cynthia M. Mojica, David Rothwell, and Katherine MacTavish

Fluid Practices of University–Community Engagement Boundary Spanners at a Land-Grant University (pp. 113–126)
Ania Payne, Ronald Orchard, Joshua Brewer, and Cassidy Moreau

Community-Engaged Scholars’ Boundary-Spanning Roles and Intersected Identities: Korean Dual Language Bilingual Education Program in a Public Elementary School (pp. 127–140)
Jayoung Choi, Tuba Angay-Crowder, Hakyoon Lee, Myoung Eun Pang, Gyewon Jang, Ji Hye Shin, Aram Cho, Jee Hye Park, and Shim Lew

It Takes a Village to Raise a Science Communicator (pp. 141–156)
Veronica F. Frans

Nurturing Community and Resilience: Four Years of Reflection on Virtual Coworking Among Boundary-Spanning Community-Engaged Scholar–Practitioners (pp. 157–168)
Kathryn A. V. Clements, Michele C. Fritz, Makena Neal, and Diane M. Doberneck

(Re)Building Trust With Indigenous Communities: Reflections From Cultural Brokers (pp. 169–184)
Lorinda M.N.M. Riley and Jessica P. Kaneakua