What is community engagement?
In 2021, Binghamton University officially adopted the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching definition of community engagement.
Carnegie defines community engagement as 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.
The expected outcomes for such collaborations are enriched scholarship, research and creative activities; enhanced curriculum, teaching and learning; preparation of educated, engaged citizens; strengthening of democratic values and civic responsibility; the addressing of critical societal issues; and contributions to the public good.
Reciprocity is what defines and distinguishes engagement from outreach or service, defining relationships between those in the University and those outside the University that are grounded in mutual respect, shared authority and co-creation of goals and outcomes.
High quality practices for responsible community engagement
The following guiding principles outline practices to ensure high quality community engagement. These principles and practices were developed by a cross divisional working group in collaboration with 17 community partners from a variety of fields.
This list is not in priority order, as all high quality practices are interconnected and equally valued. These help us practice accountability through recognizing the value of sustained community involvement in promoting understanding, fostering mutually beneficial relationships and creating lasting impact.
- Value Diversity and Social Justice
- Explore your own identities and positionality, and how they shape your experience in community. Seek to continuously identify and challenge assumptions, biases, judgments, and stereotypes about individuals and communities.
- Promote inclusion through valuing and respecting people of diverse identities and backgrounds, and work to create inclusive environments.
- Recognize and identify ways to address root causes of social injustice and adapt a long-range social change perspective through a variety of forms of civic engagement
- Embrace a Strengths and Asset-Based Perspective
- Recognize the wealth of resources, wisdom and resilience that exists within communities and de-emphasize a deficit/needs approach to engagement.
- Emphasize enhancing opportunities and resources in partnership with community members and organizations, rather than on "fixing" perceived issues or problems within communities.
- Foster Mutually-Engaged and Reciprocal Partnerships
- Foster mutually beneficial and reciprocal partnerships that genuinely support the work of community partners and the development of students, faculty and staff.
- Collaborate with community partners to develop agreed upon goals and strategies, and evaluate, and revise programs to ensure that programs are beneficial to their work.
- Collaborate with community partners to determine the best pathways for the sustainability of partnerships and projects/programs.
- Explore your own identities and positionality and how they shape your experience in community. Seek to continuously identify and challenge assumptions, biases, judgments and stereotypes about individuals and communities.
- Promote inclusion through valuing and respecting people of diverse identities and backgrounds, and work to create inclusive environments.
- Recognize and identify ways to address root causes of social injustice and adapt a long-range social change perspective through a variety of forms of civic engagement.
- Practice Humility
- Approach community engagement activities with an open mind and a listening and learning attitude.
- Foster trust, empathy and mutual respect through ongoing and sustained open communication and authenticity.
- Critically examine how issues of power and privilege impact attitudes towards community and community engagement activities.
- Engage in Learning, Reflection and Evaluation
- Provide intentional opportunities for learning about partner organizations, community issues and context before, during and after community engagement activities.
- Process community engagement experiences through dialogue to deepen self-awareness and understanding of community, to remain accountable and to inform future actions.
- Systematically evaluate engagement outcomes in collaboration with community partners.
Adapted from: Best Practices for Responsible Community Engagement -Case Western Reserve University; Principles of Ethical and Effective Service -Stanford University; Center for Community Engagement -Sonoma State University; Strand, et al. Community-Based Research and Higher Education; Jacoby et al. Building Partnerships for Service Learning.
Resources and support
The Center for Civic Engagement provides resources and tools for those interested in community-engaged teaching, research and learning.
Community Engagement Faculty Teaching and Research Enrichment Grants: These grants support faculty with up to $3,000 in related project expenses that enrich community engagement. Visit the Funding and Resources faculty page for more information.
Community-Engaged Learning Course Development Stipends: A $1,000 stipend is available for developing a new or revised course that integrates community-engaged learning (CEL) and successfully obtains a CEL course designation. Visit the Funding and Resources faculty page for more information.
Community Engaged Teaching Fellows Program: The Community Engaged Teaching Fellows Program is a CCE academic support initiative that guides faculty in the design and implementation of effective community-engaged teaching and learning. A select group of fellows receives a stipend and meets monthly through the academic year to discern how academic service-learning courses and community-based scholarship can support their professional teaching and research goals. Visit the Funding and Resources faculty page for more information.
Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) Courses: The CCE can assist with developing and designating a course as a Community-Engaged Learning course. Visit the Community-Engaged Teaching faculty page for additional information.
Additional information, resources and support can be found on the Faculty Resources for Community Engagement page.
What does community engagement at Binghamton University look like?
Community engagement at Binghamton University is:
- Prioritized in the Office of the President
Strategic Priority 4 (SP4) of Binghamton University’s Road Map to Premier strategic plan is dedicated to community engagement. SP4 aims to foster community engagement that benefits faculty, students and community partners. For more information on the goals, metrics and targets of SP4, visit the SP4 webpage. - Strategized across University divisions and upper administrations
The Community Engagement Council, co-chaired by Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Rose and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Hall, is comprised of upper administrators from all six colleges and key divisions of the campus and aims to:
- Create systems, structures and processes that advance community engagement initiatives
- Address barriers to participation and success
- Share information about community engagement across divisions and schools
- Identify opportunities for collaboration
- Enacted in University-wide strategic initiatives
The Carnegie Steering Committee, co-chaired by Alison Handy Twang (Director of the CCE) and Carl Lipo (Associate Dean for Research and Programs, Harpur College), leads the University’s efforts to obtain the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement and provides strategic guidance to SP4 and the Community Engagement Council. - Centralized in the Center for Civic Engagement
The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) cultivates partnerships that strengthen communities and develop active and engaged citizens. Visit the Students page for information on our community-engaged programs, the Faculty page for information on community-engaged teaching and research and the Community Partners page to learn more about our resources for community partners.
For civic and community engagement stories highlighted through the CCE and BingUNews, visit our News page.
To explore more community engagement and public service activities happening at Binghamton University, visit our Collaboratory! Collaboratory is a searchable and public facing database that showcases what Binghamton University faculty, staff and students are doing in partnership with community.
