Academic citizenship

Academic citizenship can be defined as the service that academics carry out to benefit the higher education institution they belong to, the scientific community, and the wider society. Academic citizenship, also called service, is necessary for university functioning and development as well as for reinforcing the connections of universities to the collectivity they are embedded within, thus disrupting the view of higher education systems as secluded portions of society or “ivory towers.” This entry will delve into the various interpretations of academic citizenship that have been provided and the different types of academic citizenship that have been acknowledged in the literature. It will then parse out its antecedents, distinguishing between individual and organizational-level factors that foster or hamper the enactment of service. The relationship between academic citizenship and other faculty roles and activities will be analyzed, and how academic citizenship is valued and rewarded will be discussed.