University of Minnesota Crookston granted Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement
Jan. 14—CROOKSTON, Minn. — The University of Minnesota Crookston campus has joined the university system's other campuses in being awarded the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a press release from the campus said.
With this news, the university system is the country's first and only to have each campus given this designation. The other campuses received their own recognitions in the past years: Twin Cities in 2006 and 2015, Morris in 2015, Duluth and Rochester in the 2023-2024 school year.
The award is administered by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This particular designation requires a school to have "evidence-based documentation of institutional policies and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy university-community engagement," the release said. The recognition has been given to 368 colleges.
"The Carnegie classification is quite an honor to achieve," Crookston Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause said in the release. "It is a strong testament to the active and engaged university community that is involved in the community and region."
The University of Minnesota, in their system wide strategic plan, made it a goal for each campus to gain this classification, the release said. Interim President Jeff Ettinger is happy with achieving this goal, saying in the release, "We are proud to be a national leader in community engagement and to see the dedication of faculty and students at all campuses reflected in this designation, as well as in the important progress on the university's strategic goals."
Laurie Van Egergen, the vice provost for public engagement, also had comments about the university's efforts to improve itself and its services, which includes incorporating the community around the campus.
"Community engagement deepens learning for students and is an important way to apply university resources to complex social, environmental and economic problems," she said.
