Emancipating Minds and Practicing Freedom: A Call to Action

Abstract

The generative utility and relative permanence of higher education institutions suggests they may have a vital role in contributing to our collective survival, if they are able to evolve quickly and purposefully. This essay is a reflection on my own experience of the academy and the ways in which the Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement opened my mind and emboldened me to work hand-in-hand with communities nearby and around the world. In doing so, it makes the case for the practice of “reciprocal knowledge” to enhance human dignity and wellbeing and improve social harmony and stability. It is also a call to action, inviting people inside and outside the academy to contribute to the growing global university civic engagement movement.