The Possibilities and Limits of Institutionalizing Community Engagement
Reflections of an Exiled Practitioner-Activist
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/29521Keywords:
collective impact, community engagement, institutional change, public scholarship, undercommonsAbstract
This article examines the possibilities and limits of institutionalizing community engagement in higher education through an eight-year case study of the Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement (PSE) at the University of California, Davis (2017–2025). Drawing from practitioner-activist experience, social movement theory, systems thinking, and collective impact frameworks, the article analyzes how PSE sought to build institutional capacity, shift campus culture, and advance epistemic equity. Despite significant accomplishments—including new programs, merit and promotion guidelines, and a UC-wide engagement network—the office was ultimately dismantled amid shifting institutional priorities, neoliberal pressures, and political volatility. Using radical critiques of the university, including Harney and Moten’s Undercommonsand K. Wang Yang’s Third University, the article interrogates the structural constraints that limit institutionalization and explores alternative approaches to community engagement that emphasize pluralism, solidarity, and insurgent forms of organizing. The UC Davis case illustrates both the transformative potential and inherent fragility of institutionalized engagement efforts, offering insights for practitioner-activists navigating a rapidly changing higher education landscape.
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