Community Engagement

2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Re-Classification at UW Seattle

UW Seattle is currently working on the assessment and application process for the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.  The purposes of pursuing the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement are to:

  • Retain UW Seattle’s Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, earned in 2020;
  • Reflect on the progress made regarding community engagement; and
  • Leverage the application process to continue to improve and build our capacity and infrastructure that supports community engagement at UW Seattle.

The intended outcomes of the re-classification process include:

  • A reflection on the last 5 years of UW Seattle’s community engagement efforts and progress made towards addressing the recommendations articulated in 2019 to further institutionalize community engagement.
  • A comprehensive set of UW Seattle’s community engagement data and stories that responds to the 2026 Carnegie re-classification questions.
  • A set of recommendations, for UW-Seattle to improve, strengthen and build on our community engagement efforts.

2026 Working Group and Timeline

A 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Re-Classification Working Group consisting of faculty, staff and students representing academic and core units across UW Seattle will work together to respond to the re-application questions and produce a set of updated recommendations.  The Working Group will be led by a Core Team who will coordinate the overall process.

  • Executive sponsor:  Ed Taylor, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs
  • Core Team:
    • Fran Lo (convener), Executive Director, Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center
    • Marisa Nickle, Senior Director of Strategy and Academic Initiatives, Academic and Student Affairs
    • Sean Gehrke, Executive Director of the Office of Educational Assessment
    • Kirsten Atik, Director of Communications, Undergraduate Academic Affairs

For full list of Working Group members and their charge: 2026 Re-Classification Charge Letter

The timeline for the re-application process is:

  • Spring 2024: Develop re-classification work plan and establish Working Group and subgroup leads
  • Summer 2024-Winter 2025: Collect data and prepare responses to application questions
  • April 1, 2025: Application deadline
  • December 2025: Campuses notified by Carnegie Foundation