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University earns community engagement classification

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has once again honored CSU Monterey Bay for its focus on service and public engagement, making it one of only 361 institutions in the United States to hold the classification.

The 2015 Community Engagement Classification documents CSUMB’s “excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement,” according to the foundation.

Community engagement, as defined by the foundation, focuses on the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources.

“We appreciate this recognition by the Carnegie Foundation,” said CSUMB President Eduardo Ochoa.

“Community engagement has been a cornerstone of CSUMB since our founding and its importance has only grown over the years. We want to continue to build on our tradition of service learning and to seek new and meaningful ways to build partnerships that help move our community forward,” the president said.

In 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed the firstclassification system for American colleges and universities as a research tool to describe and represent the diversity of U.S. higher education. The Community Engagement category was first created in 2006, and the designation was awarded to CSUMB that year. It is one indication of the growing importance of community service and civic engagement as a priority for higher education.

About the university’s community engagement initiatives

CSUMB's community engagement initiatives are diverse and originate from every academic program, emblematic of CSUMB's commitment to active learning and its concern for its role as a "steward of the region."

CSUMB is one of the few universities in the nation – public or private – to have madeservice learning a graduation requirement for all students. Through service learning, all CSUMB academic departments and programs have been able to develop strong relationships throughout the community.

Nearly half of CSUMB students enroll in service learning courses each year, contributing more than 65,000 hours of service to more than 250 schools, non-profit organizations and government agencies in the region.

A few examples of the university’s outstanding accomplishments in service learning and community engagement include:

• CSUMB's Chinatown Renewal Project, which involves over 100 students each year in the revitalization of Chinatown neighborhood in Salinas;

Return of the Natives environmental restoration project, which works with over 60 students in various environmental efforts;

• The Seafloor Mapping Project, which develops detailed maps for state agencies;

• The Mission Conservation Program, which involves dozens of students in conservation and interpretation projects at the region's historic missions;

• The Algebra Academy and Imagine College, which work directly with local youth in college preparation courses.

The university was honored with another community engagement award in December – the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. CSUMB is the only two-time recipient of the prestigious President’s Award for Community Service in Higher Education.