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Fitz Center for Leadership in Community

Carnegie Community Engagement Classification

The University of Dayton received the Carnegie Community Engagement Elective Classification in 2015 and is currently in the process of reclassifying. UD is one of 357 institutions that hold this classification. 

Importance of the Carnegie Classification: The Carnegie Reclassification process is a rigorous self-study of Community Engagement. The application shows how the field is moving forward and where our campus needs to go to make the work deeper, more pervasive, and integrated at an institutional level. The application ties to our institutional identity, keeps us accountable, and helps be a catalyst for change. By being a Carnegie Community Engaged Classified Campus, we prove that we value and commit to institutionalizing community engagement. More information on the classification

Carnegie Classification application information

  • Nov. 4, 2024: Deadline to Secure Application 
  • April 1, 2025: Application Deadline
  • December 2025: Notification to campuses of their classification status
  • January 2025: Public Announcement 

  1. Campus Contact Information
  2. Campus, Community, Infrastructure, and Community Engagement Context
  3. Institutional Identity and Culture
  4. Quality of Community Engagement Relationships & Academic Partnerships
  5. Faculty and Staff
  6. Curricular Engagement
  7. Co-Curricular Engagement
  8. Civic Learning and Life *** added in 2026
  9. Community Engagement and Other Initiatives
  10. Reflection

Thank you to the campus-wide team helping with this effort. The committee is led by Samantha Kennedy and supported by Nancy McHugh.

The 2026 Reclassification Committee Included:

  • Margie Pinnell (Full Time Faculty, Engineering)
  • Amy Lopez Matthews (Executive Director, Center for Student Involvement) 
  • Justin Keen (Director of Assessment and Student-Centered Analytics, LTC) 
  • Karen Velasquez (Director of Experiential Learning, OEL)
  • Kelly Bohrer (Executive Director, The ETHOS Center and Director of Community Relations, School of Engineering)
  • Vince Lewis (Associate Vice President, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Executive Director, LW Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership President, The Hub Powered by PNC Bank)
  • Denise James (Associate Dean for Assessment and Program Review, CAS)
  • Graham Hunter (Assistant Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Faculty SEHS)
  • Andrea Seielstad (Professor of Law, Law School)
  • Meaghan Crowley (Coordinator of Community Engagement, Center for Social Concern)

The Application for the 2026 reclassification will be due in April 2025. The committee has been working diligently and has made progress in the following areas of priority:

  • Institutional Definition
  • Curricular Tracking and creation of the CEL tag
  • Assessment: Shared learning outcomes in co-curricular programs (civic attitude, asset based thinking, community building) 
  • Community Partner Survey 
  • Office of Experiential data gathering and coding for CEL and conducting an Ethnographic study of CEL
  • MSL Data and CECC survey 
  • Student module for training on community engagement 
  • Anchor Learning Network Initiatives 
  • GivePulse Tracking

CONTACT

Community Engagement at Fitz Center


1401 S. Main Street
Dayton, Ohio 45409
937-229-5400
Email