SJU Definition:
Purpose
Aligned with the Carnegie Classification of Community Engagement, quality outreach activities and partnerships should aim to:
- strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility;
- address critical societal issues and contribute to the public good.
Process
Outreach activities and partnerships should also:
- prepare educated, engaged citizens;
- enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity;
- enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning.
Standards:
Standards are grounded in the research of best practices in the field of community engagement. Questions below each standard offer a way to assess if your program/project meets each standard.
- Reciprocity: Design and implementation of the outreach activity and partnership should have benefits to both the external partner organization as well as the university community.
- Reflection: Participants in outreach activities should have structured opportunities to critically reflect. Characteristics of critical reflection are being continuous, connected, challenging and contextualized.
- Partnership: SJU and community organizations should communicate, plan, and assess programs collaboratively. Moreover, partnership necessitates that collaboration becomes sustainable over time.
- Mission Leave Policy
- Faith-Justice Institute
- Institute for Clinical Bioethics
- Promoting Sustainable Management Education (PRME)
- Office of Teaching and Learning
- Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND)
- Partners for Campus Community Engagement
Questions on community engagement or looking to add your area? Contact: Jill Amitrani Welsh, Director, Faith-Justice Institute (Jill.Welsh@sju.edu)