119 U.S. colleges and universities recognized for community engagement

Last week, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching designated 119 U.S. colleges and universities as Carnegie Community Engagement Classification recipients. The universities undergo a self-study and review process that considers their relationship within their larger communities and includes areas such as institutional commitment, student impact and outreach and partnerships. Among those designated or re-designated this year, nine are SSTI members. 

To be assessed for this classification, institutions must provide evidence of community engagement through a framework broken into three parts: foundational indicators (which is divided into two sections – institutional commitment and institutional identity and culture), circular engagement, and outreach and partnerships. Among the three facets, some of the key aspects focused on are community engagement as a leadership priority, infrastructure, professional development, community voice, breadth of courses offered, depth of the curriculum, and programs and institutional resources provided for the community.

Of the 119 institutions classified, 44 are receiving the designation for the first time, while 75 are now re-classified, after being originally recognized in 2010 or 2015. These 119 institutions join the 240 that earned the classification in 2015, for a total of 359 campuses who currently hold this designation.

The nine SSTI members named this year are Auburn University, University of Pittsburgh, Kansas State University, Missouri State University, University of Georgia, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Utah, University of Washington, and West Virginia University. Additionally, four of our members, Emory University, Ohio State University, San Diego State University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst, were classified in previous years and still currently hold the designation.