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Efforts are underway to professionalize the field of community engagement and to build the discipline of community engagement. This work requires the articulation of the knowledge, skills, values, and ethical standards that distinguish community engagement from related fields. It also requires cross-sector collaboration and communication as well as valuing community engagement in different contexts. This chapter provides an overview of the Master's Program in Community Engagement at Merrimack College and has been written collaboratively by the director of the program and a student in the program. The authors contend that the disciplining and professionalization of community engagement requires the establishment of academic programs and departments which develop and disseminate knowledge. With the disciplining and professionalization of community engagement, the field will be better positioned to prepare community engagement practitioners equipped with the skills and expertise necessary to engage in communities in collaborative, respectful, and responsible ways.

Community engagement is a growing field and engaged research is vital to the field. Community-engaged research has the defining features and principles of community, participation, and action, each of which are described in this chapter. Conducted with and for communities, community-engaged research exists on a continuum with varying degrees of engagement. There are many challenges to developing and implementing community-engaged research and graduate students in non-profit and community-based work require relevant training and experiences to do this work effectively. Key challenges include the timeframe required for community-engaged research, the Institutional Review Board process and ethical responsibilities to the community, students' basic research knowledge and experience, and students' comfort and confidence with community-engaged research. This chapter describes one program's approach to facilitating graduate students' acquisition of community-engaged research skills and offers recommendations to faculty involved in such work.

This chapter focuses on the use of appreciative inquiry in higher education and community contexts, providing an extensive review of this literature. Furthermore, the chapter describes how appreciative inquiry has been applied within the Community Engagement Program at Merrimack College. Jointly written by the program director, a graduate student, and an adjunct instructor, the chapter includes all three voices and perspectives. It includes lessons learned that may be generalizable to business and organizational contexts.

Efforts are underway to professionalize the field of community engagement and to build the discipline of community engagement. This work requires the articulation of the knowledge, skills, values, and ethical standards that distinguish community engagement from related fields. It also requires cross-sector collaboration and communication as well as valuing community engagement in different contexts. This chapter provides an overview of the Master's Program in Community Engagement at Merrimack College and has been written collaboratively by the director of the program and a student in the program. The authors contend that the disciplining and professionalization of community engagement requires the establishment of academic programs and departments which develop and disseminate knowledge. With the disciplining and professionalization of community engagement, the field will be better positioned to prepare community engagement practitioners equipped with the skills and expertise necessary to engage in communities in collaborative, respectful, and responsible ways.