From Solos to Symphonies: Orchestrating Learning through Collaboration

Boyer (1997) stated "the most fundamental challenge confronting American higher learning is to move from fragmentation to coherence. He spoke of connection, "connections between teaching and research, connections between students, faculty, and staff, connections across the disciplines, and connections from the campus to the larger world." Like the pause between symphonic movements, higher education appears to be signaling a critical turning point. The Information Age has forever altered our work, and changing the tempo of this new knowledge network requires our institutions to think, organize, and act differently. 21st century higher education has been transposed into business -- big business -- and this shift in reality demands the full attention of our leadership. New and compelling research on the learning process illuminates the need for changes in the way higher education performs its mission. A successful response to this powerful rhythm of change confronting academe necessitates commitment, courage, and creative collaboration -- all of which establish the drumbeat of Collin College's Center for Scholarly & Civic Engagement (CSCE). Composing the Center represented a concerted shift in organizational practice and required transformational change working in what Ramaley (2002) describes as "a complex three-dimensional mental space: learn about culture of organization and work in ways that respect it, embody qualities that are associated with a true democratically guided learning community, and have a clear and compelling model for change that guides actions." This essay describes the philosophical and practical impetus for the CSCE, its implementation, and success to date.[author[