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By SU Public Relations

SALISBURY, MD---In 2020, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ earned the American Council on Education (ACE) and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s prestigious Elective Classification for Community Engagement for the first time, signifying the institution’s commitment to community-engaged learning.

Now, those organizations have redoubled that honor, renewing SU’s Community Engagement classification through 2032.

“Civic engagement has long been a pillar of a ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ education,” said President Carolyn Ringer Lepre. “Through initiatives such as our Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement (PACE), Presidential Citizen Scholars program, and ShoreCorps AmeriCorps program, SU is a leader not only in preparing our students for civic and community involvement during and after their time at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, but in providing training for local community members who wish to serve.

“We thank ACE and the Carnegie Foundation for recognizing our commitment as we continue to build the civic leaders of tomorrow.”

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is one of only 277 campuses nationwide to hold this distinction — down from 359 in 2020, placing SU in an even more distinct group. These institutions partner with the public and private sectors “to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens, strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good,” according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education website.

“Our application reported on some of the hundreds of informal and formal relationships maintained between SU’s faculty, staff, and students and our broader communities. These relationships are based on a desire to collaboratively improve the places we live and work,” said Dr. Alexander Pope, PACE director. “This renewal will help ensure we are able to continue our commitment to civic engagement and education into the next decade and beyond.”

The Elective Classification for Community Engagement represents a campus-wide philosophical commitment to engaging with the community and is not granted without a demonstrated impact on the community. SU holds those connections within each endowed school and college, as well as with its athletic programs and its faculty tenure and promotion process.

More importantly, the University’s outreach efforts are of reciprocal value to both the institution, the community and the organizations with which they are associated. More than half of all external grants at SU support community engagement in some fashion. SU’s connecting students with learning experiences at TidalHealth, local public schools, and the Eastern Correctional Institution, for example, not only benefit the educational experience, but also contribute to the public good.

The Community Engagement designation is not the only Carnegie Classification SU holds. Last year, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ earned the organizations’ Research Colleges and Universities classification, recognizing SU’s commitment to research and development at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.