Community engagement is a core part of the University of Washington’s mission, vision and values. Since the university’s inception, UW faculty and staff’s work and our students’ learning experiences have been interwoven with the goals of public impact and community enrichment. As a public university we are deeply committed to serving all our citizens. This measure of public trust and shared responsibility guides our decision-making as well as our aspirations and vision for the future. The UW Diversity Blueprint, the most current tri-campus strategic framework, establishes overarching goals to assist individual academic and administrative units in valuing diverse perspectives, creating a welcoming learning environment for all students, promoting broad access and equal opportunity, and promoting place-based education and engagement. UW Bothell’s strategic plan includes community engagement as a pillar. So does UW Tacoma’s strategic plan. Also, as is the case for so many institutions, the University of Washington’s history of working with communities includes efforts that have been extractive or otherwise harmful. Additionally, community-engaged scholarship and learning can be overlooked or undervalued in the academy. The UW is committed to improving our practices toward more positive impacts for our partners, faculty, students and staff.
- Read community engagement stories from around the UW.
- Learn about the UW’s community engagement definition, principles, practices, and relevant policies and guidelines.
- Learn about recent efforts to build tri-campus capacity for community engagement
- Learn about the assessment efforts to be considered as Community-Engaged Campuses by the Carnegie Foundation
- See a directory of UW’s community engagement offices.
- Explore awards the UW offers for community engagement activities.
- Get engaged!