National Collaborations

The National Center for the Study of University Engagement (NCSUE) participates, and in some cases takes a leadership role, in a number of cross-organizational bodies that focus on the advancement of outreach and engagement. Among other things, these collaborations work on defining, assessing, benchmarking, classifying, and advocating for outreach and engagement.

Outreach Scholarship Conference

National Partnership

The national Outreach Scholarship Conference is an annual forum for critical reflection on the public mission and work of an academic institution — along with the scholarship that underpins this work — and to strengthen institutional support for engagement and public scholarship. In 2007, Michigan State University joined The Pennsylvania State University, University of Wisconsin–Extension, Ohio State University, University of Georgia, University of Alabama, and North Carolina State University as a partner in convening the conference. Associate Provost Hiram E. Fitzgerald and NCSUE Co-Director Burton Bargerstock serve on the partnership's steering and implementation committees. They are also contributors to the Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop. Fostered by NCSUE and organized by advanced graduate students from across the country, the Workshop is held in conjuction with the Outreach Scholarship Conference which jointly sponsors it with NCSUE.

National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC)

Council on Engagement and Outreach (CEO)

Michigan State University is a member of NASULGC and Associate Provost Fitzgerald and NCSUE Co-Director Burton Bargerstock participate in the CEO and its Benchmarking Task Force. Efforts on this task force have included helping to define the qualities of university engagement and giving presentations to the Council on the assessment and documentation of outreach teaching, research, and service.

Higher Education Network for Community Engagement (HENCE)

National Network

HENCE formed as a result of a Johnson Foundation Wingspread summit meeting (2006) that led to a declaration to create a national network that would coordinate efforts across organizations that deal with university-community engagement. HENCE addresses important gaps and next steps critical to community engagement endeavors across the higher education sector. Cross-organizational teams work on: advocacy and policy at the federal and state levels; visibility and dissemination of engagement's impacts; better coordination of existing resources, guides, and conferences; professional development for higher education leadership; new networks among engaged researchers; and identification of effective tools and strategies for assessment and documentation. Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement, leads the Steering Committee and represents MSU at HENCE.

Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC)

Committee on Engagement

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is an academic consortium of the Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago. The CIC Committee on Engagement has drafted a working definition of engagement and is developing a resource guide, assessment criteria, and a template for exemplars that will be applicable across the universities of the CIC. The MSU Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement, Dr. Hiram Fitzgerald, chairs the CIC Committee on Engagement.

Carnegie Reclassification

Michigan State University Involvement and Response

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, as part of an overall revision of its higher education classification system, has created a new Community Engagement classification. This classification allows higher education institutions the option to describe and represent their outreach and engagement work. In 2005, MSU and 12 other colleges and universities helped to develop a set of indicators and a framework for the classification. Dr. Fitzgerald, the Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement, and Dr. Zimmerman, the Director for the National Center for the Study of University Engagement, represented MSU in the pilot project and are the primary authors of the MSU report.

In January 2007, Carnegie selected Michigan State University as one of the first universities to be designated as a "community-engaged university" using its new Community Engagement Classification criteria. The selection includes recognition in curricular engagement as well as outreach and partnerships--the highest achievement possible within the classification framework.

View the Carnegie Reclassification Pilot Study - Michigan State University Response

After submitting the report for the original pilot that resulted in the new classification, MSU submitted some additional materials about service-learning and a grid describing representative MSU-community partnerships. View Addendum I | View Addendum II.

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