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91���� has received the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a prestigious national recognition given to institutions of higher education committed to building meaningful partnerships, intentional collaborations and shared impact with their broader communities.

The American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching awarded 91���� the elective classification on Jan. 12, following a rigorous five-year benchmarking and self-assessment process. The classification places 91���� among a select group of 277 institutions recognized for integrating community engagement into academic and campus life. The University was one of 48 institutions receiving the classification for the first time in 2026.

“This honor is most deserved for 91����, and I send my thanks and appreciation to the members of the steering committee for their work assembling our application,” 91���� President Anne D’Alleva said. “Since I’ve arrived, I’ve heard from many members of the University community about their interest in and passion for strengthening bonds with the local community. The spirit of community engagement is in the DNA of 91����, and I look forward to continuing this work in the years to come.”

The Classification recognizes institutions that prioritize community engagement in policy, practice and culture. 91���� has a strong history of commitment to partnerships that advance teaching, learning and scholarship while strengthening communities. Faculty from diverse disciplines teach community-engaged learning courses that connect student learning to community-benefiting work. Students volunteer and intern in the local community. The University’s mission embraces community engagement, and this commitment is evident in promotion and tenure guidelines, resource allocation and incorporation of community voice into various campus committees and planning processes for community engagement.

The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) led the planning process and coordinated a campus Carnegie Steering Committee that conducted assessments of current community-engagement policy and practice, convened working groups charged with improving practices and prepared the application. The work was supported through complementary governance structures, including a Community Engagement Council co-chaired by Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Hall and Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Rose, with representation from all schools and major divisions, as well as the University’s prior strategic plan priority focused on community engagement, co-chaired by Pam Mischen, chief sustainability officer and professor of environmental studies, and Kelli Smith, assistant vice president for student success.

“This designation is the result of a lengthy process coordinated by our Center for Civic Engagement and the Carnegie Steering Committee and reflects a true university-wide and community partnership effort,” Smith said. “It is an exciting milestone that underscores President D’Alleva’s clear commitment to prioritizing community engagement.”

The University adopted Carnegie’s definition of community engagement as the campus-wide standard and aligned strategic priority goals and metrics with the Carnegie framework. Building on this foundation, the institution strengthened recognition and support for community-engaged teaching and research through revisions to promotion and tenure guidelines, introduced new provost awards and increased funding for faculty grants to support community engagement.

The University also enhanced assessment and tracking of community engagement activities by updating questions in the annual faculty report and adopting as the campus-wide engagement tracking platform. In addition, it expanded opportunities for community voice and feedback, including an annual community partner survey and funding to recognize community contributions to student learning and faculty research.

Campus collaboration was essential to the success of the application. Faculty contributed examples of community-engaged teaching and scholarship that address local needs, helping to grow the number of Community-Engaged Learning courses from 21 in 2018 to 114 in 2025. Students shared insights from their volunteerism, service-learning and civic-engagement experiences, collectively serving nearly 102,000 hours of public service in the 2024-25 academic year. Community partners emphasized long-standing relationships built on trust and mutual benefit, while senior leadership reinforced the importance of connecting engagement to strategic planning, resource allocation and institutional accountability.

“91���� truly embraced the Carnegie classification process as an opportunity to strengthen institutional policy and practice to advance community engagement in ways that benefit our students, faculty and community partners,” said CCE Director Alison Handy Twang ’11, MPA ’13, PhD ’22. “This was a highly collaborative process, with various stakeholders working together to assess current practices, make recommendations and implement improvements to policy and practice.”

The collective efforts showcase the University’s commitment to community impact. Partnerships support youth development in local schools, address public health challenges, strengthen nonprofit capacity and provide students with learning experiences that also benefit the broader region. Research collaborations reflect shared inquiry and the expertise of community partners. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how the University works with partners to foster a stronger, healthier and more vibrant community.

“This recognition signals to students, prospective faculty and our community partners that 91���� takes the public purpose of higher education seriously,” said Carl Lipo, associate dean of research in Harpur College. “We believe scholarship should contribute to improving the world, and the Carnegie classification provides external validation of those commitments.”