Seminar – Academia’s Emerging Crisis of Relevance and the Consequent Role of the Engaged Scholar

Professor Andrew Hoffman, University of Michigan

The academy is facing a crisis of relevance. While there are multiple reasons for this to be happening, one that deserves particular attention is the extent to which academic scholars do not see it as their role to engage in public and political discourse. However, increased engagement is unavoidable in an emerging educational context where the caliber of public discourse has become so degraded and social media is changing the nature of science and scientific discourse within society. Further, there is a demographic shift in play, where young scholars are seeking more impact from their work than their more senior colleagues. In this article, I begin the process of articulating what we know and what we don’t know about the evolving role of the engaged scholar by breaking the conversation into two parts. First, why should academic scholars engage in public and political discourse? Second, how can we structure a set of ground rules that could form what might be considered a handbook for public engagement? In the end, this talk is about a re-examination of how we practice our craft, to what purpose and to which audiences.

Speaker bio

Andrew Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at Michigan Ross, University of Michigan; a position that holds an appointment in the Management & Organisations department at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the Sustainable Systems group at the School of Environment and Sustainability. Andy is a leader in using organisational, network and strategic analyses to assess the implications of environmental issues for business, and has published 14 books and over 100 articles and book chapters on the topic. Prior to academics, Andy worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Region 1), Metcalf & Eddy Environmental Consultants, T&T Construction & Design, and the Amoco Corporation.

There will be a light lunch served at the start of the session.

Contact Luke Slater if you wish to arrange a meeting with Andrew during his visit