Community and Economic Engagement
Advancing the Public Good
As the only land grant public research university in the region, UC Riverside bears a responsibility to engage with its communities in ways that maximize the impact of its contributions, advance the social good, and solve pressing problems. UCR recognizes our role as an Anchor Institution in our region. Our future is tethered to the future of the community, and we are committed to deep, long term, mutually beneficial engagement. One of the pillars of UCR's mission is advancing the public good. Our UCR 2030 strategic plan outlines specific initiatives to help us to meet one of our objectives to “serve as an Anchor Institution for Research and Economic Development in the Inland Empire.” Two frameworks in particular, the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement and the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities' Innovation and Economic Prosperity Program, help us to further define and strengthen our engagement with the Inland Southern California region.
Document Your Community Engagement
Faculty and staff, please take two minutes to document community engagement and public impact in the community impact database
Carnegie Community Engagement Classification
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Carnegie Community Engagement Classification
In January 2024, UC Riverside was recognized by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching with the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. This elective, evidence-based classification recognizes community-engaged scholarship, teaching, learning and outreach.
To receive the designation, our campus has undertaken a rigorous process for self-assessment and continuous improvement. As part of that work, the Carnegie Community Engagement Advisory Committee established an operational definition of UCR community engaged research, learning and service as work that:
- Establishes and sustains mutually beneficial, respectful, and sustained collaboration that creates a sense of collective ownership and reciprocal value for the campus (including students, faculty and staff) and community partners
- Enriches the scholarship of the institution by accessing community cultural wealth and expertise
- Addresses community-identified needs and enhances community well-being
- Deepens students' civic and academic learning, and promotes connections between these through opportunities for critical reflection
See the full self-study PDF below:
CARNEGIE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT APPLICATION
APLU Innovation and Economic Prosperity Program
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Read Full Description
APLU Innovation and Economic Prosperity Program
Our research and innovation enterprise is a key driver for the economy of California’s fastest-growing region. We aim to boost social mobility not only through our students’ individual success, but also by channeling our research and innovation to create businesses and jobs in our region, fostering economic prosperity for all. UCR was recently recognized as a leader in this kind of economic engagement, when we received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation in March of 2024.
In Fall 2022, UC Riverside joined the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) Innovation and Economic Prosperity Program. This self-study process, concurrent with the Carnegie classification process, has allowed us to ensure a collective understanding of the regional needs for workforce development (talent), support for new and thriving companies (innovation), and collaboration between partners (place).
See the full self-study PDF below:
APLU INNOVATION & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY APPLICATION
Community Engagement Opportunities
UC Riverside students, faculty and staff engage with our community in thousands of ways each year. Below please find some of the ways you can engage with our community partners.
For Students
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Did you know that you can search for community engaged courses through the student registration page? You can enter it as a filter for your search, just as you would when looking for a breadth course.
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The community service portal is an easy way to find opportunities to work with a community-based organization for a class, internship, or volunteering
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You can also search for community-based internships or work on Handshake.
For Faculty
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The XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning has a community engaged learning curriculum specialist who can work with you on embedding CEL into an existing or new course.
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Nominate a colleague for the Community Engaged Teaching award.
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Learn more about the growing OASIS initiative.
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Connect with existing partners of UCR for community engaged research and teaching through the UCR portal or the UC-wide database.
For Community Partners
- Post opportunities for internships or volunteers through the UCR portal at communityservice.ucr.edu.
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Post opportunities for internships or volunteers through the UCR portal.
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Education-related organizations can connect directly with the School of Education Community Engaged Learning team.
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UCR has many strong community partners in public policy, public health, environmental research and the arts. Connect with any of these areas to learn more.
UCR Community Engagement News
