Academically Based Public Service in a University's Local Community as a Possible Strategy for Integrating Teaching, Research, and Service

The authors note that universities have done little to help alleviate collapsing urban communities. If universities are to help offset urban problems, they must address over-specialization, fragmentation of academic disciplines, and division between arts and sciences, as well as the separation between research, teaching, and service. They call for academically based public service--service rooted and tied to teaching and research. The Penn Public Service Internship Program is cited as one model to integrate public service and teaching/research.