Prestigious national recognition acknowledges connection between University and community

Cleveland State University has been selected to receive the 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This prestigious national honor is highly sought-after by higher education institutions as an indicator of close connectivity to the public and private sectors in the region surrounding an institution.

The Carnegie Foundation describes the purpose of community engagement as “the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.”

CSU is one of 83 first-time recipients of the Community Engagement Classification, selected from more than 130 applicants.

“We are very honored to earn this classification, which provides an affirmation of our efforts to offer a highly relevant and valuable experience to our students while serving the needs of the community,” said CSU President Ronald M. Berkman.

In its application, CSU highlighted a range of community-enhancing efforts, including:

• Establishing a partnership with Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) to create a medical school program focusing on urban health;
• Working with private industry, as evidenced by a collaboration with Parker Hannifin in the Human Motion and Control Lab at CSU;
• Investing more than $500 million to modernize the 85-acre campus in a manner that has enhanced the surrounding neighborhoods and spurred significant private investment;
• Integrating the Department of Theatre and Arts with a professional performing-arts center, PlayhouseSquare, through the CSU Arts Campus;
• Creating an access continuum with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District through Campus International School and MC²STEM High School, both housed on CSU’s campus;
• Launching the Central Neighborhood Alliance to enable faculty to support grassroots initiatives in the nearby Central community and to encourage youth there to visit the CSU campus;
• Connecting the classroom to the workplace by networking with more employers than any other public university in Ohio and helping students secure more than 3,000 placements at area workplaces.

CSU is one of 361 institutions nationwide to be recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for exceptional levels of community-supporting activity and will maintain the Community Engagement Classification through 2025.

The University also recently launched the Cleveland Engagement Project, a community engagement web portal that lists CSU community projects and offers an opportunity to connect with stakeholders.