Two years after a successful Community Engagement reclassification from the American Council on Education, UNCG continues to make strides to live fully into one of our university mottos, “Find your community here.” A valuable part of the self-study process for reclassification was the gift of learning how UNCG can continue to improve its community engagement efforts. At the helm of this process is the UNCG Community Engagement Council. Established by the Provost’s Office in 2021 to improve coordination and communication as the University further develops its community-facing research, service, and teaching efforts, the Council works toward improved and streamlined communication among internal and external stakeholders, as well as supports clearer pathways for students, faculty, and staff interested in community-engaged work to find resources for and access to engagement opportunities. The Council is tri-chaired by representatives from the Division of Research and Engagement, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Division of Student Success.
After receiving Carnegie feedback, the Council has worked tirelessly on a plan to meet the goal of integrating community engagement more deeply into teaching at UNCG. This plan has produced a summer course development workshop for faculty to integrate community engagement into courses. This workshop provides comradery, peer support, curriculum development and partnership connections. Over a two day workshop, Dr. Kathleen Edwards, CE Council Faculty Fellow, shares her expertise and experience and faculty are equipped to create or refine community-engaged courses.
Dr. Erica Payton, CE Council Faculty Fellow, supports efforts to increase visibility and structures for faculty to develop community-engaged courses and for students to find and choose them. Annual tracking of courses helps the Council understand the scope of curricular engagement at UNCG and helps improve pathways for student engagement.
Cammie Jones-Friedrichs, independent consultant, former Director of Carnegie Community Engagement Elective Classification, and ICEE visiting senior scholar has been working with the Council to continue to improve strategic directions in the coming years.
The Institute celebrates the Community Engagement Council for its work in continuing to fully embed community engagement in teaching at UNCG. Our community, students, faculty and staff all benefit from this foundational work of connecting the university with our communities.