Addressing campus–community relationships using the <i>three corners</i> marriage model

Abstract Campus–community partnerships are essential to the field of family science. Like many other academic units in the applied social sciences, family science departments connect with communities to train students and engage in outreach, fulfilling the mission of many institutions, particularly land‐grant universities. Establishing, nurturing, maintaining, monitoring, and improving these partnerships benefits academia, the scholarly institution in question, and the organizations and individuals in their host communities. This paper focuses on the application of a family science‐derived theoretical model to illuminate connections between institutions of higher education and the communities in which they are situated, for better or for worse. Using case studies and real‐life examples, we adapt the three corners theory of relationships to campus and community partnerships, illuminating how external interests and investment in the partnership can affect the productivity of joint initiatives.