Partnership Initiative

The Center for Academic Excellence announces an initiative to contribute to the institutional mission and Portland State University’s engagement agenda—an initiative to foster leadership in partnership development. The 2006 Carnegie classification data identified “reciprocity in partnerships” as an area of challenge for higher education.

“Most institutions could only describe in vague generalities how they achieved genuine reciprocity with their communities. Community partnerships require new understandings, new skills, and even a different way of conceptualizing community” (Driscoll, 2008).

Portland State University provides an ideal context for leadership in partnership development. There are compelling arguments for PSU’s leadership role: more than 15 years of commitment to community/university partnerships, interdisciplinary curriculum associated with community engagement, award winning and long-term partnerships at both institutional and departmental levels, and outstanding faculty who have been hired, rewarded, and promoted for scholarship associated with partnerships and engagement. Both the institution and individual faculty have served as models in higher education on a national level.

The CAE’s partnership focus will support the university’s institutional agenda to commit to engaged scholarship, engaged learning experiences and institutional engagement with the partnership initiative. Plans are in process for the initiative but the current vision is for the Center to support faculty in research scholarship related to partnerships, and teaching scholarship with curriculum and pedagogy related to partnerships. Plans also include the development of a knowledge base and national network for partnership development, and a possible national institute to be convened at Portland State University.

Provost's letter

This RFP is one component of the Center’s new partnership initiative and is intended to build both the institutional and national knowledge base of partnership practices and understandings. The scholarship of partnerships is an important component of the university’s strategy to achieve our priorities and elevate our profile through engagement. Your responses to this RFP can contribute to our priorities for “improved student success” and “expanded scholarship.”

A Guide to Reciprocal Community-Campus Partnerships