Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement
The Carnegie Foundation Elective Classifications are the nation's leading framework for categorizing and describing colleges and universities in the United States. The Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement provides an independent and rigorous assessment of an institution's extraordinary commitment to, investment in, and accomplishment at community engagement.
The University of Denver was among the inaugural higher education institutions to receive the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement in 2007. DU was reclassified in 2015 and again in 2024.
As of 2024, DU is one of 368 institutions nationally — and only three in Colorado — to hold this prestigious classification.
At DU, community engagement is a method of research, creative work, teaching and learning that emphasizes university–community collaboration characterized by mutual benefit and reciprocity. Faculty, students and staff across campus use community-engaged methods to advance our vision of being a great private university dedicated to the public good.
DU’s reclassification in 2024 builds on a long history of community engagement as a key strategy to realize our vision to be a great private university dedicated to the public good. Today, faculty, staff, and students from across campus use community-engaged methods in collaboration with community partners to solve problems together. Community-engaged work is supported by essential offices, including the Center for Community Engagement to Advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL).
2024 Application Highlights
Reflecting the institutionalization of community engagement, DU's 2024 reclassification application highlighted work carried out from 2015 to 2022 by more than 30 faculty and staff members, as well as nearly two dozen centers and programs, working in collaboration with over 40 community organizations.
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DU Faculty & Staff
| Faculty Member |
Organization/Dept |
| Alejandro Cerón |
Anthropology |
| Aleysia Whitmore |
Lamont School of Music |
| Anne DePrince |
Psychology |
| Ashley Hamilton |
Theater |
| Barbekka Hurt |
Biological Sciences |
| Bonnie Clark |
Anthropology |
| Cara DiEnno |
CCESL |
| Carlos Jimenez |
Media, Film, & Journalism Studies |
| Carol Helstosky |
History |
| Cheri Young |
Knoebel School of Hospitality Management, DCB |
| Dan Manzanares |
Prison Arts Initiative |
| Elizabeth Escobedo |
History, CAHSS |
| Esteban Gómez |
Anthopology, CAHSS |
| Jennifer Bellamy |
Butler Institute for Families, GSSW |
| Julia Roncoroni |
Morgridge College of Education |
| Kathleen Ferrick |
former CCESL staff |
| Katie Kleinhesselink |
former CCESL staff |
| Kimberly Bender |
Graduate School of Social Work |
| Lina Reznicek-Parrado |
Spanish |
| Linda Quintanar |
Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence |
| Lynn Schofield Clark |
Media, Film, & Journalism Studies |
| M. Roger Holland |
Lamont School of Music |
| Marie Berry |
Korbel |
| Marquisha Scott |
Graduate School of Social Work |
| Matthew Taylor |
Geography |
| Rebecca Galemba |
Korbel School of International Studies |
| Roddy MacInnes |
Art & Art History |
| Sarah Watamura |
Psychology |
| Shauna Rienks |
Butler Institute for Families, GSSW |
| Susan Schulten |
History |
| Tamara Kuennen |
Sturm College of Law |
| Veronica House |
Writing Program |
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DU Centers & Programs
| Center/Program |
Department/College (if applicable) |
| 4D Experience |
|
| Butler Institute for Families |
GSSW |
| Career & Professional Development |
|
| CCESL |
Office for Public Good Strategy and Research |
| Center for Immigration Policy & Research |
|
| Center for Sustainability |
Office for Public Good Strategy and Research |
| Civic Litigation Clinic |
Sturm College of Law |
| Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab |
|
| Colorado Women's College Leadership Scholars |
Office for Public Good Strategy and Research |
| DU Ethnography Lab |
CAHSS |
| DU Prison Arts Initiative |
CAHSS |
| DU Service & Change |
CCESL |
| DU Grand Challenges |
|
| IRISE |
|
| Living & Learning Communities |
Office for Public Good Strategy and Research |
| Mutual Aid Fellowships |
GSSW |
| Office of Teaching and Learning |
Faculty Affairs |
| PLP Leadership Program |
Office for Public Good Strategy and Research |
| Public Impact Fellows Program |
|
| Ready for American Hospitality (RAH) |
DCB |
| Robert & Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts |
Academic Affairs |
| STAT (Seeking Tomorrow's Answers Together) Conference |
|
| Undergraduate Research Center |
Academic Affairs |
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Community Organizations
| A Little Help |
| Adams County Workforce Education, Westminster High |
| African Community Center |
| Amache Project |
| Aurora Public Schools |
| Blind Institute of Technology |
| Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pueblo |
| Centro Humanitario para los Trabajadores |
| Center for Community Wealth Building |
| Charles Hay World School |
| Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) |
| Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) |
| Colorado Fatherhood Program |
| Colorado Safe Parking Initiative |
| Craig Hospital |
| Cultivando |
| Denver Anchor Network |
| Denver Public Schools |
| Denver Human Services |
| Denver Public Library |
| Denver Police Department |
| Design Outreach |
| Dharma's Garden |
| Dr. Martin Luther King Early College |
| Empowering Communities |
| Ethiopian Community Development Council's African Community Center |
| Fort Logan National Cemetery |
| Frontline Farming |
| Hilltop (Montrose and Grand Junction) |
| La Plata Family Resource Center |
| Metro Caring |
| Metro Denver Nature Alliance |
| Mirror Image Arts |
| National Jewish Health |
| New Era Colorado |
| Project Protect Food Systems Workers (PPFSW) |
| Project Safeguard |
| Prowers County Department of Human Services |
| Puksta Foundation |
| Remerg |
| Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center |
| Rose Andom Center |
| Soul Stories |
| The Piñon Project |
| United States Institute of Peace |
| Valverde Movement Project |
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Community Members
| Community Member |
Organization |
| Evon Lopez |
Valverde Neighborhood Association |
| Danny Mazur |
Soul Stories |
| Kassandra "Kasey" Neiss |
Comm Partner: Project Protect Farm Workers |
| Laura Quezada |
|
| Mayra Juarez-Denis |
Centro Humanitario para los Trabajadores |
| Patrick Potyondy |
Colorado Fatherhood Program Manager |
| Tim and Kerry Francis |
Dharma's Garden |
| Jennifer Eyl |
Project Safeguard |
| Leigh Burrows |
Colorado Department of Corrections |
| Scott Troy |
Westminster High School |
| Alex Marrero |
Superintendent, Denver Public Schools |
