These are Harkay’s opening remarks to the “Conference on Connecting Community Building and University Reform: Effective School, Community, University Partnerships”. The remarks primarily provide a scan of key moments in the history of community engagement by American universities. He notes in particular, the influence of Jane Addams, Dewey and later, Ernest Boyer; the aftermath of Cold War era policies with respect to research and current ‘real world’ pressures that are “forcing” PSE institutions to “become genuinely civic institutions devoted to solving the pressing problems of our society (p. 21). The author also notes that universities are subject to a number of competing demands that limit their ability to focus on community engagement; key among these is the pressure for ‘excellence’, still narrowly defined.