Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT)

The following definition is from the Carnegie Foundation.

Community engagement describes collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.

For more information about Community Engaged Research please check out Campus Compact’s Community-Engaged Research Knowledge Hub.

To learn more about how, and why, higher education institutions are solidifying community engagement as a key part of their mission, check out the Chronicle Report: College as a Public Good.

Colleen Hitchcock, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Ecology 

• Community Partner: Greater Boston Area, iNaturalist
• “Boston Area City Nature Challenge” (Research at Brandeis) 
• “Remote Learning in the Age of COVID-19” (BrandeisNOW, 2020)
• Get involved: Brandeis University Biodiversity 

Toni Shapiro-Phim, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Global Community Engagement Associate Professor, Creativity, the Arts and Social Transformation 

• Community Partner: Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change and Women Against Abuse
• “Reclaiming Cultures through Dance: A Look into Toni Shapiro-Phim’s Research,” (BrandeisNOW, 2022) 

Sara Shostak, Ph.D., MPH, COMPACT Center Director and Professor of Sociology and Health: Science, Society and Policy 

• Community Partner: Urban Farming Institute of Boston 
  • “A Real Piece of Dirt,” (Brandeis Magazine, 2018)
  • “Integrating Community-based Research into a Senior Capstone Seminar: Lessons Learned from a Mixed-methods Study,” (Teaching Sociology, 2019)
• Community Partner: Waltham Fields Community Farm

• • Shostak, S., Kehoe, A., Black, J., & Bindman, R. (2025). Growing community, food sovereignty, and health: A case study of a farm-based produce prescription program. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 14(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.143.016.

Sophie Trachtenberg ‘21 and Mariah Lewis ‘22, Wendy Cadge, Ph.D., Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanistic Social Sciences, Dean of GSAS, Professor of Sociology, and Sara Shostak, Ph.D., MPH, COMPACT Center Director and Professor of Sociology and Health: Science, Society and Policy 

• Community Partner: Massachusetts General Hospital 
• “Partnering in a Pandemic: Students and Faculty Researched the Impacts on Nurses” (BrandeisNOW, 2022) 

Derron Wallace, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology and Education 

• Community Partner: Boston Public Schools
• “Examining Racial Inequality in Public Schools During a Pandemic,” (BrandeisNOW, 2020)

We know that this is just a partial list of all the community engaged scholarship that is taking place at Brandeis. Please be in touch if you would like your research to be included!

Yes! Brandeis also offers support for community engaged research through the:

• Public Humanities/Community Engagement Grants (Mandel Center for the Humanities) [for faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows],
• Dissertation Innovation Grants (Mandel Center for Humanities) [for graduate students], and
• Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaboration [for undergraduate students].

Brandeis also offers support to you in identifying external funding sources. Faculty in the Creative Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, please reach out to Judy Appel for more information. 

For funding opportunities and partnerships with private organizations, see the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.

You may find guideines for the evlauation of public and digital scholarship here.

This depends on the purpose and nature of the research and whether or not you intend for your research to be shared outside of your community partner organization. It’s always safest to reach out to our Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) staff for guidance. For more information, please see IRB FAQs.

External Academic Journals:

(List inspired by Bentley University’s Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center)

Academic Exchange Quarterly 

Community Development Journal

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship 

Journal of Cooperative Education and Internships 

Journal of Education and Work

Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement

Metropolitan Universities Journal

Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 

Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric

The Public Historian 

Yes! Brandeis University has vans available for students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows to reserve for authorized student club purposes, community service, academic trips and projects, and administrative purposes. Vans can accommodate 7-13 passengers and drivers must be van certified. 

Van reservation forms are processed between Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Vans must be reserved at least 48 hours (business days) in advance. Questions about van reservations? Please contact Sammy Ghansah.

For more information regarding the university’s insurance coverage, please see Insurance and Risk Management's policies.

Yes! If the university is sponsoring or organizing an event or activity for Brandeis or non Brandeis community members, a waiver should be considered.

Consider sharing your project through COMPACT Story Lab!

The Brandeis Library is a great space on campus to support your community engagement goals. 

• Need help with getting your research project started? Consider reaching out to the Research Help Desk or your department’s Library Subject Liaison to help you use library and technology resources in your teaching, learning, and research. 
• Want to learn more about the community of Waltham? Visit Researching Waltham: Resources for Research, Teaching, and Learning! 
• Want to conduct a multimedia research project or course activity? Visit the Brandeis Library Sound and Image Media Studios or the Brandeis Library MakerLab!

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaboration has many resources for students and faculty preparing to conduct community-engaged research! 

• Brandeis ForagerOne Searchable Research Opportunities Database
• Hearst URCC Undergraduate Faculty Research Assistant Program 
• Research 101 Workshops 
• URCC Peer Research Mentors 

On-Campus

• Community Engagement Pathways for Brandeis Students
• COMPACT Events Page

Are you interested in volunteering around your local Waltham community? See the Department of Student Engagement’s page for information on volunteering opportunities such as the: 

• Alternative Breaks
• Campus Groups 
• Service Clubs
• Waltham Group
• Waltham: The More You Know Training

Off-Campus

Campus Compact offers a multitude of resources for faculty, staff, and students interested in delving deeper into community engagement. Thanks to Brandeis’s membership, all resources and events are free to Brandeis faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students!

• Communities of Practice
• Engaged Scholars Initiative 
• Events
• Faculty Development
• Job Board 
• Resourcing for Success 
• Student Programming
• Ways to Lead