SUU Reapplying to be a Community Engaged Institution

Published: February 04, 2019 | Author: Kenzie Lundberg | Read Time: 2 minutes

First awarded this national recognition in 2010, Southern Utah University is one of only 361 higher education institutions in the United States to be recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Community Engaged Institution. SUU is currently completing an intensive self-study and application process as the deadline for re-application approaches.

According to Carnegie, community engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. To be selected, institutions provide examples of school-wide practices exhibiting community engagement and alignment in mission, culture, leadership resources, and practices.

“The importance of this elective classification is borne out by the response of so many campuses that have demonstrated their deep engagement with local, regional, national, and global communities,” said John Saltmarsh, Director of the New England Resource for Higher Education (NECHE). “These are campuses that are improving teaching and learning, producing research that makes a difference in communities, and revitalizing their civic and academic missions.”

SUU is no exception. With a long history of community engagement, SUU is committed to being “ a dynamic teaching and learning community that engages students in experiential education leading to personal growth, civic responsibility, and professional excellence.” The Community Engagement classification underscores and enhances SUU’s ongoing efforts to fulfill a wide range of institutional and community responsibilities. And a team of SUU faculty, staff, and Cedar City community members have been working for the past six months to complete the application.

“The invitation to join the SUU 2020 Carnegie Community Engaged Institution team was quite an honor,” said Peggy Green, executive director of Iron County Care and Share. “As a resident of Iron County, I know the importance SUU holds in our community. As a non-profit organization and community partner of SUU, I am consistently impressed with the engagement and service offered to us through the university's willingness to collaborate. Our organization is able to serve our community only with the support of SUU. I was reminded of my positive, past experiences with the university having had the opportunity to participate as a member of the preparation team.”

Currently in the later stages of the self-study process, the committee will soon be seeking the feedback of the campus community.

“Community engagement continues to be a defining characteristic of our university, and this Carnegie application reaffirms SUU’s mission,” said Dr. Earl Mulderink, director of the Community Engagement Center. “We welcome assistance from everyone on campus as we move into the final stages of strengthening our Self-Study before the application deadline in April 2019.”

The self-study will be available via the mySUU Portal in the coming weeks, please keep an eye out and take the time to provide feedback.

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Tags: Cedar City Community

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