College and university professors have a unique opportunity to shape public discourse and to educate the broader community as a whole. Professors often share their wisdom with the community, engaging with others who share an interest in education and production of new knowledge. Terrell Strayhorn, professor of urban education at LeMoyne-Owen College, contributing faculty member at Walden University, and President/CEO of Do Good Work Education Consulting, a firm he launched and grew since 2007, explains how and why professors should engage with the public and share their knowledge outside the academic world.
“Publicly-engaged academic work is critically important to universities fulfilling their all-important outreach mission and helping them prove their value to governments and the broader society,” Strayhorn explained. “Nowhere is this more important, in my mind, than at public, land-grant institutions that were once hailed ‘The People’s University’,” he said. “Public engagement can take many different forms though, anything ranging from serving on panels, public talks/lectures, to expert testimony or writing op-ed pieces…all of these help faculty share their expertise with the greater public and fields beyond their own.”
Interdisciplinary Work
Too often, college professors are only involved in their own area of study. It is better to engage in interdisciplinary work where the professor can share their knowledge with the academy as a whole. When professors from different disciplines and fields collaborate, they can work together to solve the unique problems facing today’s global society. “Professors are driven to teach and produce new discoveries through their research that advance knowledge and solve problems; but, to solve today’s most perplexing problems, faculty must move outside their discipline and engage those in other fields,” Strayhorn shared. “It’s when the social scientist, the demographer, and the economist join forces with the epidemiologist, the politician, and the city planner to tackle ‘real-life’ problems, like the Flint Michigan water crisis, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the 3rd ward in New Orleans, or even what we’re seeing now with coronavirus in China that real magic happens.”
Education for All Ages
University professors can also bring a great deal of educational advantage to their colleagues working with other age groups. University professors can work with K-12 teachers to enhance the curriculum and make sure that tomorrow’s college students receive a high-quality learning experience to prepare them for higher education. “There are so many audiences that faculty can serve—K-12 educators have been an important group for my research,” Strayhorn said. “When I was on the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, I won a grant from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission that brought me in close partnership with a failing high school, training teachers on culturally relevant pedagogy as a way of improving students’ scores,” he recalled.
Promoting a More Educated Public Discourse
When professors share their knowledge with the public, they can encourage respect in public discourse or what some experts have referred to as “democratic engagement.” Faculty can serve as “agents of democracy,” displaying the importance of values like civility, cooperation, and transparency. “As a professor, I have tried to model this for my students—that we have a role and maybe even an obligation to serve the public and greater good. That’s the public benefit of higher education,”
The knowledge that professors share can go a long way toward improving the quality of public life. The public often accepts that a college professor is an authority in their subject area, meaning that they will be listened to more carefully than other members of the community. But when college professors take the opportunity to connect with communities in this way, they can enhance their own lives as well. “Early on, I thought of academic engagement in terms of finding new ways to help various publics recognize and understand the value of my research discoveries. But, over time, I realized that it helped me too as a teacher, scholar, and communicator,” Strayhorn shared.
Research Communication
University professors like Terrell Strayhorn are also concerned with current research in their fields. Sharing the results of their latest research with the public can help to enhance the health, safety, and well-being of society. For example, professors like Strayhorn who are concerned with social equity and diversity can help to promote social awareness about discrimination, implicit bias, or how educational disadvantages in childhood can accumulate over time unfairly affecting long-term outcomes for ethnic, economic, and sexual minorities. “Contrary to popular belief, there’s a long history of academics speaking in the public square to general audiences…and I’ve been motivated to do so to raise consciousness, awareness, and action,”
Promoting research results to the public is relatively easy in today’s instant communication era. Publicly-engaged scholars like Strayhorn use a variety of tools to connect with audiences, including white papers, op-ed pieces, public talks, and social media. When he started his Twitter account a few years ago, he admits he didn’t really understand the goal of the platform and hardly used it. “I thought it was nonsense to be honest and figured it would be a waste of time, until I gave a public presentation about my book on student success,” referring to his latest book, College Students’ Sense of Belonging: A Key to Educational Success for All Students.
“Amid a standing ovation, I just remember my phone buzzing nonstop and, when I glanced down, my screen was covered in Twitter notifications…follow requests and ‘mentions’ quoting my speech. It was incredible. I started replying, retweeting, and sharing more content that connected with the needs of my new-found followers. The rest is history…Twitter overnight became this amazing tool that complemented the work I was doing and allowed me to connect with hundreds of professionals, policymakers, journalists, and parents instantly with just a 144-character tweet. That’s more than I’d ever reach in a single classroom.” Over time, Strayhorn’s twitter audience has grown from zero to over 8,200.
Enhanced Understanding of their Subject Area
Professors can help to enhance the public’s understanding of their subject area. For example, research scientists can interact with schoolchildren to promote science learning. Law professors can go on the local news stations and explain current events, like the election, from their perspective. Climate scientists can work with meteorologists to help the public understand global warming and the environment. Social scientists have the same power. Strayhorn, an education scholar and social scientist, has been on news/radio shows and podcasts sharing how colleges and universities can graduate more students and improve racial tensions on campus. “Appearing on TV news, talk radio, webinars and podcasts can help professors enhance the public’s understanding of their subject matter by making it plain and simple,” Strayhorn said.
Publications
University professors, especially those who work in research institutions, are all too familiar with the phrase “publish or perish.” Publishing books and scholarly articles brings a professor more credibility within the academic community. When a professor writes a popular biography or a non-fiction book that is widely read, they are influencing the public as a whole. These books bring local pride to the campus community and help to make the institution’s name more widely known. Strayhorn’s 10 books have been circulated both in the U.S. and abroad, with several serving as core textbooks in freshman seminars and graduate prep programs. “I’ve always published and always will, but I think that universities and faculty who increase their reach through engaged scholarship are better able to recruit students, garner funds, boost their ranking, and serve the public,”
Understanding the Interaction Between the College and the Community
College towns are highly dependent on their universities as a source of jobs, revenue, and culture. These towns benefit greatly from the presence of these institutions in their vicinity. When college professors take their responsibility to the entire community seriously, they are better able to provide services the community needs. While some college professors need to be convinced to leave the “ivory tower” and work with community partners to create better knowledge in the population as a whole, this is not true for engaged scholars like Strayhorn. “I see enormous value in having academic work reach lay audiences,” he said. In fact, he created a hashtag (#DoGoodWork) several years ago as a way to crowdsource resources for educators about equity, diversity, and student success.
Terrell Strayhorn understands the needs of the community and the public responsibilities of the college professor and institution. He has done his part to bring college and community together, promoting understanding and collaboration between the two entities.
