UW Achieves National Community Engagement Designation

The University of Wyoming’s commitment to serving the people of Wyoming has been recognized nationally.

The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching announced today (Monday) that, for the first time in its history, UW has been selected as having met the criteria for the 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.

UW is one of 368 institutions in the nation found to be making significant strides in finding ways to engage with community partners, build on community assets and address a wide array of community challenges.

“Your institution’s application documented excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement,” ACE and the Carnegie Foundation wrote in a letter notifying UW of its designation.

The Carnegie classification is not merely an award. It is an evidence-based documentation of institutional policy and practices focusing on areas such as institutional culture and mission, curricular and cocurricular programming, continuous improvement activities, and the recruitment and reward of faculty, staff and students.

“We are delighted that Wyoming’s land-grant and flagship university has been recognized nationally for its connections with the people of the state,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “The Carnegie community engagement designation is a badge of honor for UW, but we will not rest on the laurel. In fact, it signifies a commitment to do even more to connect and collaborate with the people of the state.”

UW’s application for the Carnegie designation was developed by a 40-member task force appointed by Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman. Headed by Professor Jean Garrison, of the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies, the group spent months completing a self-study of UW’s community engagement practices, rewards, infrastructure and partnerships around the state.

“We are grateful to Dr. Garrison and the other task force members for their tireless efforts to achieve this designation,” Carman says. “In many respects, this process and classification should be viewed as the first step in an institutional effort to better facilitate and increase support for community engagement and outreach across the university to the benefit of faculty, staff, students and community partners.”

“Completion of the self-study of UW’s community engagement practices, rewards, infrastructure and partnerships would not have been possible without the cooperation of the entire campus community and numerous partners across the state,” says Garrison, who notes that over 100 individuals and departments from across UW provided information for the application. “We were able to provide examples of the great community-engaged work that occurs in every corner of campus. It is the task force’s hope that its work will serve both those on campus doing work in Wyoming communities as well as communities and organizations seeking to partner with or access the resources of the university.”

The Carnegie Foundation defines community engagement as 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. The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of 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.”

As a land-grant institution, UW’s mission includes serving the public through learning, discovery and engagement. Examples of university-wide community engagement efforts include:

-- The Wyoming Innovation Partnership, UW’s collaboration with the state’s community colleges and state agencies to advance business development, support workforce training, develop and support entrepreneurs, and encourage new business starts.

-- UW Extension, with offices in each of the state’s 23 counties and the Wind River Indian Reservation, which supports rural communities facing contemporary challenges and changes.

-- The Wyoming Business Resource Network, a collaboration with the Wyoming Business Council to assist all businesses, big and small, throughout the state.

-- The Wyoming School-University Partnership and the Trustees Education Initiative, which have launched multiple initiatives to address Wyoming’s K-12 teacher shortage and network with pre-K providers around the state.

-- The Civil Legal Services Clinic in the College of Law, which provides free legal services to qualifying Wyoming residents who can’t find free services through other agencies.

-- The Wyoming Latina Youth Center, which exposes Latina high school students to college life while gaining the skills and resources to pursue college degrees.

-- The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program in the College of Business, which helps low- to moderate-income families in need of tax-filing help.

-- The Science Initiative Roadshow, a team of undergraduate and graduate students from UW, along with UW instructors, who travel throughout the state facilitating hands-on learning for K-12 students.

-- Science, music, art and sports camps and competitions that bring K-12 students from around Wyoming to UW each year.

The Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement is one of seven nationally recognized classifications established by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education to help “recognize and describe institutional diversity in U.S. higher education.” The Classification for Community Engagement is the Carnegie Foundation’s only elective classification, meaning that it requires a voluntary application process by institutions.

Following the 2026 classification cycle, applications will be released every three years. As a result, campuses classified in 2024 will have the option to reclassify in either 2029 or 2032. UW’s classification is valid until 2032, at which time the institution will need to seek reclassification to retain its status.

About the Carnegie Classifications

The Carnegie Classifications are the nation’s leading framework for categorizing and describing colleges and universities in the United States. Used frequently by policymakers, funders and researchers, the classifications are a critical benchmarking tool for postsecondary institutions.

The Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement is awarded following a process of self-study by each institution. The classification has been the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 19 years, with classification cycles in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2020 and now 2024.

About the American Council on Education

ACE is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice. As the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, its strength lies in its diverse membership of more than 1,600 colleges and universities, related associations and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities.

About the Carnegie Foundation

The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified and fulfilling life. Enacted by an act of Congress in 1906, the foundation has a rich history of driving transformational change in the education sector, including the establishment of TIAA-CREF and the creation of the Education Testing Service, the GRE and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education. The Carnegie Foundation also was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Department of Education and Pell Grants and, most recently, in the use of networked improvement science to redress systemic inequities in educational opportunities and outcomes.