February 3, 2020
UW recognized for institutional commitment to community engagement
All three University of Washington campuses are among the 119 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification this year, an elective designation that indicates institutional commitment to community engagement.
This important classification is awarded following a process of self-study by each institution, which is then assessed by a national review committee led by the Swearer Center for Public Engagement at Brown University, the administrative and research home for the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
Read the campus announcement here.
The Classification for Community Engagement is not simply a designation from the Carnegie Foundation. The Carnegie Community Engagement Classification has been the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 14 years. It requires evidence-based documentation of institutional practice and a process of self-assessment and quality improvement for community engagement.
“This is more than a point-of-pride for the UW,” says Ed Taylor, UAA’s vice provost and dean. “Receiving this classification truly puts into focus that the three core entities of the University of Washington’s mission — teaching, research and service — are all equally important and inspire our intention to serve the public good.”
“The expectation that we have in UAA for all our students is to learn and to serve,” he continued. “Our hope is that they leave the University and be servant-leaders and thoughtful public citizens.”
Undergrad Auston Jimmicum and elementary school students work on their video for Pipeline Project’s Telling Our Stories project. This was one of the featured projects in the application for this designation.
Toward that end, UAA recently brought together its community engagement and leadership education programs, including Othello-UW Commons, in one center. Engaging students in college access, P-12 student success, community-engaged courses and internships, all while emphasizing strong community partnerships and leadership development, make plain that educating undergraduates to be thoughtful servant-leaders in and with community is among our highest priorities.
UAA programs whose community-engagement work was included in the application are the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center, Dream Project, JumpStart, Honors Program, Husky Leadership Initiative, Mary Gates Endowment for Students, and the Pipeline Project.
The application process for the Seattle campus was led by Rachel Vaughn, former director of the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center, and Jen Davison, program director at Urban@UW, and included a group of more than 30 colleagues from across campus as well as community-based partners. The study produced a rich and compelling application and set of recommendations for the University’s next steps in community engagement.
— Content for this announcement was also drawn from the UW News release.