The November-December issue of Academe looks at faculty service. It is perhaps the most ambiguous of the traditional triad along with teaching and research, and the articles in this issue seek to describe the different ways that faculty conceive of service, and the different ways that service is (or is not) recognized. Read the issue here.

Maria Cotera is an associate professor at the University of Michigan. For years, one of her passions has been volunteering with members of the Detroit community, working to create El Museo del Norte, a museum about the Latin American community in the Midwest. It’s clear that this work falls into the category of “service” that we mean when we talk about community service. It primarily serves the local community and is not meant to advance Cotera’s personal interests. But it also takes valuable time and effort that could be spent on more traditional institutional service. When she is up for a promotion, will this be taken into account? Did it help her with her research and teaching directly, or only indirectly? Read the full article here.