University and society : interdependencies and exchange What role can the university play in the broader community or society in which it is embedded Must it remain segregated in the halls of science and knowledge which tower above the community This book examines the growing number of questions and concerns around university community relations by exploring widely accepted theories and practices and placing them under new light. From a shared point of agreement that the university is an institution which should move beyond the production of higher knowledge for power elites the contributors provide critical reflections and reports on efforts to bring about change in the canonic discourse or power biased attitudes in universities throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Australia. The central message is that the strengthening of direct relations between universities and communities is vital to the construction of social capital and to the opening of universities to society. These are processes to be advanced on both local and international levels as they involve democratizing rather than corporatizing extending the reach of our educational process sharing knowledge resources and expertise and reinforcing community decision making and problem solving capacity. How these processes of change develop and unfold within a number of universities in a wide range of countries is the story told in this book. This book will appeal to a wide readership from students and community activists looking to make education meaningful and cooperative to educational policy makers members of the professoriate and academic administrators seeking to sustain withering institutions and provide vision for new program developments Contents: Introductory thoughts Ágnes Kövér and Gaby Franger Part I. Challenging academia 1. Universities inside the world: multiscale engagement levels Maria José Casa Nova 2. Leaving the ivory tower: universities third mission and the quest for legitimacy Michael Meyer and Barbara Sporn 3. University student volunteering for development: a critical approach Nichole Georgeou and Benjamin Haas 4. Sentipensante: feeling thinking pedagogy: community based research and teaching Gaby Franger Part II: University as agent of dialogue 5. Dialogue and deliberation in a quiet place Roger A. Lohmann 6. Acting together means of creative transformation of social conflict György Csepeli 7. Universities Ngos interaction in Romania: a bridge too far away Nicolae Bibu and Mihai Lisetchi 8. Are we welcome Building trust through community based research Margot Rawsthorne and Alison De Pree Part III: Service learning and service provision 9. Clinical legal education: from loyalty to power to loyalty to society Ágnes Kövér 10. Volunteering@Wu: implementing community service learning in Austria Renate Buber Ekaterina Ivanova Stefanie Mackerle Bixa Michael Meyer and Paul Rameder 11. The community semester: enhancing town and gown relations in a medium size city John Murray 12. University of the third age Gábor Hegyesi and Katalin Talyigás Part IV: Working within and for community 13. Shifting roles for campus building in university community relationships Curt Winkle And David Perry 14. University residence Flora Tristán: A social project of experiences that breaks down walls Juan Blanco López M. Ana Almirón Alfonso Blázquez Angela Fernández Maria Del Carmen Maguilla and Silvia De La Herran 15. The university as community developer David Campbell and Dennis Pendleton 16. University and community: Jewish tradition and social justice Zoltán Háberman 17. Crossroads repertory theatre: a model of a university based theater Arthur Feinsod Index.