11/06/2026
Universities often encourage academics to leave their ivory towers to work with local communities. Such work, veiled in risk assessments and reputational management, mask the realities of genuine engagement. In this contribution to our Dispatches series, Eric Lybeck argues for the slow, frustrating and uneven practice of meaningful civic engagement.
This is a question that circulates constantly in policy documents, funding calls, and strategy meetings, usually accompanied by an assumption that the problem is one of will, communication, or technique. If only academics spoke more plainly; if only they left their ivory towers; if only they learned...
