Metropolitan Universities journal is pleased to announce an upcoming issue, “The Intersection of Faith and Community Engagement at Urban Institutions,” featuring Guest Editor Patrick M. Green, EdD, Loyola University Chicago. This call for complete, full manuscripts is open to all authors who have experience developing, implementing, assessing, and/or evaluating university community engagement at faith-based institutions or public engagement programs with faith-based initiatives.

Metropolitan Universities journal (MUJ) seeks to showcase how urban-identified, faith-based (or with faith-based initiatives) colleges and universities enact their public mission aligned with faith-based initiatives. Faith initiatives will be broadly interpreted and all faith traditions will be considered (including, but not limited to, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu). Where are there intersections between faith and community engagement? How does faith inform community engagement or initiatives that enact an institution’s public mission? Does faith animate place-based approaches at urban institutions? How does faith impact anchor institution initiatives? Are there barriers or constraints to public engagement because of faith traditions? How do interfaith initiatives influence community engagement? What factors influence and/or deepen practice in faith and community engagement programs?

We welcome evidence-based manuscripts that examine how faith influences, shapes, informs, constrains, and animates community engagement and/or the public mission at urban higher education institutions. This issue seeks to identify the influences, practices, frameworks, challenges, and effective strategies intersecting faith and community engagement programs, courses, and/or public engagement initiatives, including interfaith initiatives..

  • Full manuscripts should provide critical, evidence-based studies on university initiatives that intersect faith and community engagement, including programs, courses, approaches, and application of ideas at an institutional, organizational, or system level.
  • Authors should examine efforts that have been in place long enough to show both positive and/or negative results as measured through data collection, research and/or evaluation processes.
  • To allow readers to apply ideas and strategies in other settings, authors should provide a clear description of the challenges and lessons learned.
  • Papers that offer program descriptions of community engagement and faith initiatives without research or evaluation elements will not be accepted

Please direct any questions regarding this issue to:

Guest Editor

  • Patrick M. Green, EdD, executive director, Center for Experiential Learning, Loyola University Chicago, pgreen@luc.edu

Assistant Guest Editors

  • Cynthia Stewart, PhD, assistant director, Center for Experiential Learning, Loyola University Chicago
  • Daniel J. Bergen, PhD, executive director of community engagement, Office of Economic Engagement, Marquette University
  • Chris Nayve, JD, MBA, associate vice president, community engagement, Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action, University of San Diego

Editor

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

We invite submissions of manuscripts by May 1, 2020. Submissions should be prepared in accordance with MUJ’s instruction for authors and should be no more than 7,000 words (exclusive of tables, references, etc). Preference is given to those manuscripts that demonstrate innovation and impact and include perspectives across multiple institutions. Shorter submissions for this issue will be considered.

This issue is scheduled for publication in November 2020.