Higher Education, Citizens Engagement, and Economic Developments Work at the Grassroots: a Case Study of Dayton, Southwest Ohio
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HIGHER EDUCATION, CITIZENS ENGAGEMENT, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS WORK AT THE GRASSROOTS: A CASE STUDY OF DAYTON, SOUTHWEST OHIO OLATOKUNBO A. AWOSHAKIN A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February, 2013 This is to certify that the Dissertation entitled: HIGHER EDUCATION, CITIZENS ENGAGEMENT, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORK AT THE GRASSROOTS: A CASE STUDY OF DAYTON, SOUTHWEST OHIO prepared by Olatokunbo A. Awoshakin is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change. Approved by: Al Guskin, Ph.D., Chair date Philomena Essed, Ph.D., Committee Member date Alice Diebel, Ph.D., Committee Member date Jack L. Dustin, Ph.D., External Reader date Copyright 2013 Olatokunbo A. Awoshakin All rights reserved Acknowledgements A popular African proverb goes like this: “A tree does not make a forest.” To be sure, I could not have gone through the grueling process of this doctoral program without the support of some of the greatest friends and family members. These people have contributed to my doctoral journey in different ways. They have left pieces of knowledge in my path; they have shared insights with me, given me gems of wisdom, and lifted my spirit with words of encouragement. In the Antiochian tradition, I have learned from these people even as I continue to grow as a scholar-practitioner. With this thought in mind, I thank the following groups and individuals: Dr. David Matthews, President of Kettering Foundation; Sandy Heierbacher of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD), Bob Daley, Mrs. Carolyn Fallow-Garland; Dr. John Cavanaugh; Dr. Julie Fisher-Melton; Cricket White, Sanya Ojikutu; and Prince Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman of THISDAY Newspaper Group. I am eternally grateful to my lovely wife, Faaizah, who supported me through thick and thin—You rock my dear! I could not have done this without your unflinching love and the sacrifices you made for our family. Special thanks go to the following public office holders and community leaders in Dayton: Nan Whaley, Dean Lovelace, Matt Joseph, Sandy Godourf, Allen Elijah Ahmed, Hadiyah Abdullah, Lisa O’Hearn, Leah Werner, Munsup Seoh, David Greer, and Robert E. Jones. These people taught me a lot with their open hearts and minds. I am grateful to the faculty and staff of the Antioch University Ph.D. in Leadership and Change and to my advisor, Dr. Al Guskin, who was a gentle but persistent mentor throughout the process. I am grateful to Dr. Carolyn Kenny and Dr. Philomena Essed for introducing me to the politics of the “other.” i Special thanks to the following: Dr. Alice Diebel, Dr. and Mrs. Oluyitan, Dr. and Mrs. Gideon Adegbile, Dr. Samuel Okunade, Dr. Daniel Iselaye, Ms. Leanne Nurse-Smith, and my good friend and colleague, Kenneth A. Brown, for always supporting and encouraging my doctoral journey. I am grateful to friends and mentors at the KC-46 Tanker Modernization Program at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio for their encouragement and support. I am particularly grateful to Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, a visionary leader and a debunker of myths and folklore associated with leadership practices, Colonel Mathew Bonavita, Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Rhodes, Mr. Joseph Williams, Mr. John Slye, Ms. Carol Zelczak, and Mr. Gary Coe. Thanks to family members who did both the pleasant things and unpleasant things. Either way, these things strengthened my resolve to succeed. The truth is, I could not have succeeded without family. My thanks also go to friends like Jimi and Bola Olusola, Amy E. Jones, Rev. Beth Holten, Thomas Walbrab, Lisa Sigh, Sean Creighton, Jim Hagan, Bill Meers, Kay High, Yvette Kelly-Fields; Sheba Abdullah, Scott Murphy, Leslie Heck, and my editor, Shannon L. Venable. Heartfelt gratitude goes to my mother, Esther Awoshakin, for her love and prayers. To my siblings: Adelanke, Aderonke and Adewale, Adeyemi and Damilola, I love you all dearly. Finally, to my father, Olayele Awoshakin, who passed away before I could complete this doctoral journey, I will always miss you daddy. I know you have a smile of pride, frozen on your cheeks. Sun re o! ii Dedication This is dedicated to our lovely and talented children, Alafia and Ayodele. Peace and Joy! iii Abstract This qualitative case study focused on the efforts of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) to work with citizens and use existing community assets along with Dr. Richard Florida’s 4T model to spur economic growth in the area of Dayton, Ohio. This study provides a unique opportunity to closely examine how innovative approaches and nontraditional alliances might fare in the face of a declining economic growth with a view toward creating an environment that can support sustainable economic development. Multiple interview data, archival documents, and participatory observation were utilized during the study. Analysis of transcripts from structured interviews with a sample of the Community Catalysts, drawn from citizens of the region, and members of the Creative Task Force, drawn from participating institutions, were conducted. The study found that economic development planning models that integrate interaction, dialogue, deliberation, and even heated arguments and debates, if properly facilitated, can more effectively help participants move toward shared goals. Sustainable economic change can be achieved by fundamentally changing the working relationship in the community through purposeful citizens-stakeholder engagement. Findings reinforce the value of grassroots learning and SOCHE’s process of working with nontraditional stakeholders in the Dayton area to generate a momentum that multiplied through social and organizational networks and connections. While the 4T model in the Dayton initiative had benefits, the inability of the SOCHE effort to fully engage participation on the broader issue of race and poverty may have limited the transformational potential of the process. In this research, I propose an adaptation of the 4D-cycle, an appreciative inquiry model to illustrate how multiple stakeholders can talk and work together toward shared economic goals. Recommendations include encouraging higher education and other institutions to work on economic development that is more intentional in iv seeking non-traditional alliances that help communities move beyond politics as usual and solve problems by aggregating interests. It is further recommended that leading institutions integrate evaluation parameters in community economic development work. The electronic version of this Dissertation is at the Ohio Link ETD Center at http://ohiolink.edu/etd. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................... i Dedication......................................................................................................................................iii Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….xi Background................................................................................................................................. 4 Dayton Region in Dissertation Context ...................................................................................... 4 The Case Study ........................................................................................................................... 8 The SOCHE and the Dayton Case.............................................................................................. 9 Richard Florida and the Dayton Case ....................................................................................... 11 Talent Attraction, Retention, and the Dayton Region............................................................... 12 Higher Education-Community Intervention-SOCHE Model ................................................... 16 The Five “Dayton Create” Initiatives ....................................................................................... 19 Film Dayton.. ........................................................................................................................ 20 Placement of the Researcher..................................................................................................... 24 Scope, Limitations, and Ethical Considerations ....................................................................... 27 The Next Chapters .................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter II: A Scholarly Look at What Is Out There..................................................................... 29 Literature on Higher Education and Community Partnerships................................................. 30 Pros and Cons of Campus-Community Partnership. ............................................................ 31 Rethinking Higher Education-Community Partnerships.. ...................................................