Centered on Collaborations
The Center for Community Engagement's mission is to promote reciprocal community/curricular partnerships to enhance student learning and meet community needs. The center also aims to strengthen the experiential understanding and commitment of our students to civic engagement.
In 2008, a small group of faculty members who believed civic and community engagement could be a powerful force for student learning and addressing community needs began to meet regularly as the American Democracy Project (ADP) committee. The group developed initiatives to strengthen student awareness of current events, to encourage civic engagement, and to identify and recognize professors who enhanced student learning through collaborative partnerships with community organizations. The ultimate goal was to involve students in efforts to make a positive difference in their communities.
Two years later, in 2010, SHSU was one of the first universities in Texas to receive the official designation as a Community-Engaged campus from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
This commitment led to the creation of The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) in 2012. The CCE focuses on developing long-term partnerships between SHSU and local communities. Most partnerships link faculty members and students in their courses with area organizations so students can apply their knowledge and skills to furthering a community goal. Increasingly, however, faculty and students are helping communities conduct research on challenges and opportunities to inform decision-making.
The center’s advisory board is comprised of leaders from over twenty local organizations and companies. Members work together with the center to identify areas of local need and act as co-educators of students by hosting student interns and volunteers.
Today, valuable partnerships established through CCE are making positive impacts near and far. The center has grown in size, scope, and responsibility and now occupies an office in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences building overlooking the campus quad. A team that includes executive director Joyce McCauley (faculty), director Lee Miller (faculty), two full-time staff members, a committee of Academic Community Engagement (ACE) Coordinators, and highly-motivated student workers, serves faculty and students in all academic colleges and our partner organizations throughout the region.