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Over 25 Percent of AJCU Institutions Named in Carnegie Foundation’s 2008 Community Engagement Classification

January 16, 2009

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recently announced the institutions named to the 2008 Community Engagement Classification.  Of the 119 colleges and universities to earn this honor, nine are Jesuit institutions.

According to the Carnegie Foundation's website, the Community Engagement Classification "describes the 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." It is is based on voluntary participation from institutions across North America.  If an institution elects to apply for the classification, data is submitted on ways in which the institution interacts with its surrounding community.  This classification provides additional information to other national assessments on community outreach and service programs.

The Jesuit institutions were all ranked in the Curricular Engagement and Outreach & Partnerships category.  Two other categories (Curricular Engagement, Outreach & Partnerships) comprise the classification.  According to the Foundation's website, the Curricular Engagement and Outreach & Partnerships category:

"...Includes institutions that provided compelling evidence of one or both of two approaches to community engagement. Outreach focuses on the application and provision of institutional resources for community use with benefits to both campus and community. Partnerships focuses on collaborative interactions with community and related scholarship for the mutually beneficial exchange, exploration, and application of knowledge, information, and resources (research, capacity building, economic development, etc.)."

AJCU would like to congratulate the following schools on their selection:

College of the Holy Cross
Fairfield University
Georgetown University
Loyola University Chicago
Regis University
Saint Peter's College
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Scranton
Xavier University