Community college partnerships with institutions in other educational sectors (including schools and universities) are important and strategic ways of meeting the educational needs of college constituents and maximizing resources to achieve local and state economic development goals. Understanding what is required for effective partnerships is important in determining when and how to engage in these collaborative, but sometimes costly, arrangements. This article presents a model of partnership development that emphasizes the role of social and organizational capital in the formation of partnership capital that contributes to the long-term success of collaborative efforts.

Partnerships in academe are becoming more common, for a variety of reasons. Policymakers view partnership as a strategic way of meeting the state' s education and economic goals. Institutions benefit from facilities and resource sharing (McCord, 2002;Sink, Jackson, Boham, and Shockley, 2004), and students gain access to additional instruction and a smoother transition to postsecondary education (Bragg, 2000). In addition, state governments are formulating policy to reward academic partnership, particularly those between K-12 schools and colleges. Sadly, although these partnerships are growing in popularity, relatively little is known about them. Of the research that exists, most is descriptive, focusing on a single institution or partnership. Of equal concern, most of the research highlights the K-12 institution and fails to discuss the perspective of the community college or four-year institution. To fill this gap in the literature and ultimately strengthen these partnerships, it is critical for policy makers and scholars to consider the process involved in establishing these arrangements, how they function, and the factors that help sustain them over time.In this chapter, we discuss the elements and interactions involved in our partnership model. We begin by presenting the themes behind formation of a partnership, such as the reason for joining, the context of collaboration, process issues, and enhancing student learning. We then discuss the features of partnership, particularly the elements critical to initial development and 5 1

Twenty-two faculty at a Midwestern community college were interviewed to elicit their perceptions of their career paths, their early-stage career roles, and the role played by faculty development in their early careers. Based on the interview data, the majority did not foresee their career path and chose the community college because of its emphasis on teaching. Participants indicated that their career roles changed over time from an emphasis totally on teaching to one that included supplemental activities and that research was encouraged in their work. Many perceived faculty development activities as having a significant impact on their careers. The authors make recommendations for faculty recruitment, retention, and development.

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