OHIO community invited to contribute to Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching application

Ohio University is preparing for its application for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s elective Community Engagement Classification and is asking for assistance from the University community. The current application is based on programs on the Athens campus.

This process is led by the Center for Community Engagement and University College leadership. In addition, the Ohio University Community Engagement Committee and several Carnegie Application Committees, comprised of key stakeholders across the institution, will be contributing. 

“Ohio University is committed to working with our partners in the region and serving the community,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Donald Leo. “This application process will serve as an excellent opportunity to do a self-study of our efforts, while also showcasing many of the different ways Ohio University builds and sustains partnerships.”

In order to assist with the application process, all OHIO students, faculty and staff are invited to share information about different community engagement efforts that OHIO is involved in.

Members of the OHIO community can provide information about engagement efforts here.

The Elective Community Engagement Classification

In its application, Ohio University will provide an extensive collection of documentary evidence to demonstrate that OHIO's community engagement in curriculum, research, co-curriculars, and scholarship are aligned with the Carnegie Foundation’s community engagement definition and national best practices.

For this application, community engagement is described as a collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

The Carnegie Foundation’s Elective Classification for Community Engagement is a way for colleges and universities in the U.S. to gain recognition for institutionalizing community engagement. 

The Elective Classifications are presented to institutions that have made extraordinary commitments to their public purpose. These classifications are an institutional recognition given to an individual campus and as such requires that the self-study process consider and document many aspects of the institutional life of a campus.

For more information on Ohio University’s application for the Community Engagement Classification and how you can contribute, please see this Center for Community Engagement webpage.