President Invites Campus to Carnegie Classification Celebration
The Buffalo State community has the opportunity to celebrate the college’s 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the prestigious Carnegie Foundation on Tuesday, September 22, with an interactive discussion at 3:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center auditorium followed by a reception. All faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the event hosted by President Katherine Conway-Turner.
Andrew Seligsohn, executive director of Campus Compact, will celebrate and recognize Buffalo State’s achievement of the Carnegie Classification and encourage members of the campus community to consider what the Carnegie classification means to Buffalo State, how it benefits the institution, and how to expand community engagement efforts through teaching, research, student development, and outreach projects.
Campus Compact is a coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that are committed to the public purposes of higher education. Member campuses commit to developing students’ citizenship skills, forge effective community partnerships, and support faculty and staff as they pursue community-based teaching and scholarship in the service of positive change. Before joining Campus Compact in 2014, Seligsohn served as associate chancellor for civic engagement and strategic planning at Rutgers University–Camden, where he helped develop the university’s engagement infrastructure to maximize community impact and student learning.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Seligsohn visit and share some of his community engagement experience,” Conway-Turner said. “We anticipate that his talk will result in enriching discussions about future possibilities for expanded community engagement efforts on our campus. Already, Buffalo State has a proven track record of connecting with our West Side neighbors as well as giving direct service to community organizations and individuals throughout Western New York.”
Earlier in the day, the president will host a luncheon for Seligsohn and selected faculty and staff followed by a tour of some of the community sites that figured into the Carnegie Classification report, including the Community Academic Center, the Massachusetts Avenue Project, and Making Fishers of Men and Women.
The Carnegie classification was awarded in January 2015 after a lengthy application process. A total of 240 U.S. colleges and universities received the classification this year. Of these, 83, including Buffalo State, received it for the first time. However, the work doesn’t stop there.
Carnegie reviewers noted that even among the most effective applications, there are areas in need of continued development. For Buffalo State, those areas include assessment, reciprocal partnerships, faculty rewards for their role in community engagement, and integrating and aligning community engagement with other institutional initiatives.
“While we want to celebrate this amazing accomplishment that reflects the work of so many individuals, we also recognize the opportunities that exist to broaden and deepen our commitments to community engagement moving forward,” said Laura Hill Rao, Volunteer and Service-Learning Center coordinator and member of the Carnegie Writing Committee. “To accomplish that we need to inspire the campus to consider the opportunities available to faculty, staff, and students for community-based research and scholarship, and service-learning and community outreach projects. The upcoming celebration is the perfect time to do so."