Tougaloo College and the HBCU Faculty Development Network: Networking for Mutual Reinforcement

Tougaloo College has built on its tradition of community outreach--highlighted by its vanguard role in the Mississippi civil rights struggle--by serving as the founder of the HBCU Faculty Development Network in 1994 and creating its own Center for Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility in 2004. The network has been hosting the annual HBCU Faculty Development Symposium for the past thirteen years and has included community service and service-learning in its focus areas. The network and the Center for Civic Engagement have cosponsored conferences and workshops in service-learning and civic engagement and are currently planning a summer institute on community-based participatory research for June 2007. The Tougaloo model is one of creating expanding networks. This effort includes linking minority and nonminority institutions in the promotion of community outreach and providing opportunities for HBCU faculty to enhance their skills and knowledge related to serving the community.