The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has selected UCLA for its new Community Engagement Classification, which recognizes universities with outstanding community-based curricula, outreach and partnerships.

UCLA was the sole university in the University of California system, and the only research university in the Los Angeles area, chosen for the designation. In order to be selected, institutions were required to provide extensive descriptions and examples of institutionalized practices of community engagement that showed alignment among their mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices.

"We are honored to be recognized as a university that is deeply committed to community engagement at all levels," said Franklin D. Gilliam Jr., associate vice chancellor for Community Partnerships. "UCLA is in L.A. every day, in many ways, working to make life better for people and shedding light on those big questions that also are the responsibility of a world-class public research university."

UCLA's Center for Community Partnerships and Center for Community Learning, directed by Kathy O'Byrne, Ph.D., were instrumental in garnering the classification for the university.

Institutions were classified in one of three categories: curricular engagement, outreach and partnerships, and curricular engagement plus outreach and partnerships. UCLA was recognized for both its curricular engagement and its outreach and partnerships.

Curricular engagement describes teaching, learning and scholarship that engages faculty, students and community in a mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Outreach refers to a focus on the application and provision of institutional resources for community use, with benefits to both campus and community. Partnership focuses on collaborative interactions with the community for the exchange and application of knowledge, information and resources.

Among the other schools selected were New York University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - all of which, along with UCLA, are members of the Association of American Universities, an organization of leading research universities in the United States and Canada.

UCLA's Center for Community Partnerships is the driving force behind the university's commitment to civic engagement with communities throughout Los Angeles. Founded in 2002 as part of the university's UCLA in LA initiative, the center is dedicated to developing partnerships between UCLA scholars and local nonprofit organizations to produce academic projects connected to community-based applications that will improve the quality of life for Los Angeles residents.

The projects are designed to support children, youth and families, to foster economic development, and to enrich arts and culture. To date, the center has facilitated and funded nearly 100 academic projects involving UCLA faculty, staff, graduate students and nonprofit organization partners, totaling more than $2 million in private donations.

The center also directs several other engagement activities. It convenes Community Knowledge Forums, operates an internship program and awards the Rosenfield Distinguished Community Partnership Prize, which recognizes the most compelling partnerships.

UCLA's Center for Community Learning is the undergraduate education arm of the UCLA in LA initiative. It engages UCLA undergraduates, faculty and community partners in courses and programs that integrate teaching and research with community-based work.

The center promotes citizenship, leadership and social justice through service learning, internships and other academic coursework. It connects the research interests of faculty and students with the needs and priorities of community partners.

The center also is home to the undergraduate minor in civic engagement, the first of its kind at a research university.

About UCLA
California's largest university, UCLA enrolls approximately 38,000 students per year and offers degrees from the UCLA College of Letters and Science and 11 professional schools in dozens of varied disciplines. UCLA consistently ranks among the top five universities and colleges nationwide in total research-and-development spending, receiving more than $820 million a year in competitively awarded federal and state grants and contracts. For every $1 state taxpayers invest in UCLA, the university generates almost $9 in economic activity, resulting in an annual $6 billion economic impact on the Greater Los Angeles region. The university's health care network treats 450,000 patients per year. UCLA employs more than 27,000 faculty and staff, has more than 350,000 living alumni and has been home to five Nobel Prize recipients.

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