The University of California, Davis, was recognized today (Jan. 12) for its outstanding community engagement by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education, or ACE. The Carnegie Foundation and ACE released its list of 237 higher education institutions in the U.S. that earned the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, signifying a level of excellence in collaboration and reciprocity between a higher education institution and its communities. The classification is a renewal for UC Davis and valid until 2032.

“We are honored by this continued national recognition, which highlights our commitment to improving civic vitality and enhancing global connection,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “By fostering meaningful relationships and collaborating with partners worldwide, we amplify our impact — whether improving public health, feeding a growing population, or protecting our planet — for generations to come.”

Since its founding as the University of California’s University Farm in 1908, UC Davis has embraced its land-grant mission of community engagement, contributing to economic development, broadening access to higher education and offering practical education programs that benefit society. Community engagement is a key goal in To Boldly Go, the 10-year strategic plan adopted by UC Davis in 2017, reflecting the campus’s commitment to benefit the community, region, state, nation and world. In 2018, the Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement, or PSE, was established under the Office of the Provost to serve as a central hub for engagement efforts that are distributed across many units on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. PSE closed in June of 2025 due to campus budgetary challenges.

“We received this recognition because our faculty, students and staff are sincerely dedicated to making a difference in the world,” said Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor. “UC Davis is known for its culture of collaboration and commitment to service that benefits society. I am delighted that members of our campus community are being honored for their exceptional efforts and I am very proud to be an Aggie.”

In the last decade, UC Davis has fostered a flourishing ecosystem of community engagement efforts in academics, institutional outreach and partnerships, and community health and wealth. UC Davis defines community engagement as “a collaborative and reciprocal partnership between the university and an external community. It involves ongoing interaction and is characterized by mutual benefit, shared decision-making and equitable outcomes. This approach prioritizes the exchange of knowledge and resources, fosters respectful relationships and aims to address community and university needs while advancing the common good.” Numerous campus units actively participate in community engagement, including Aggie Square, Global Affairs, the Clinical and Translational Science Center, Grand Challenges, Government and Community Relations, and the Center for Regional Change, among others.

Michael Rios, a professor in the Department of Human Ecology, served as vice provost of PSE for seven years. He and his team prepared the application for the Carnegie Classification, which Rios said was a “vital process that showcased the wide range of mutually beneficial activities carried out in partnership with communities — locally, regionally and globally.”

“Engaging in the reclassification process offered an opportunity to evaluate the institutional infrastructure built over the past decade and identify what is still needed to strengthen community engagement in the years ahead,” Rios said. “This work is especially critical now, as the public increasingly calls on universities to fulfill the land-grant mission and serve the greater good.”

Since earning its first Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement in 2015, UC Davis has expanded public outreach, service and collaboration on many fronts. The most visible and recent advancement is Aggie Square, an innovation district on UC Davis’s Sacramento campus that is home to research, private industry partners, classrooms, housing and public-facing programs.

“The Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement reflects a sustained effort by units across our university that have made meaningful investments in community engagement,” said Tessa Hill, former associate vice provost of PSE and a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “I am proud to have been part of the process that documented, assessed and improved these commitments, alongside many of my colleagues and leaders at our institution. Now more than ever, it is clear that the future of the university rests with our unwavering commitment to partnering with communities — locally and globally — and investing resources in our core mission as an institution of public good.”

Other examples of UC Davis’s engagement with the community are Quarter at Aggie Square, the Anchor Institution Mission at UC Davis Health, the College Corps program, the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Grand Challenges, the Center for Regional Change and Global Affairs, among others.

UC Davis has increased the for-credit undergraduate courses it offers that are designated as Community Engaged Learning to 70 per year, nearly double over the last decade. Faculty can track their contributions to community engagement through an optional Statement of Contributions to Public and Global Impact, which is considered during the merit and promotion process. In the statement, faculty note their service, research, teaching and creative activities that cross over into community engagement. UC Davis further encourages and elevates individuals who excel in community engagement through a number of campus awards, including the Chancellor’s Achievement Awards, the Academic Senate Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, Student Affairs Impact Awards and the Library Graduate Student Research Prize.

Resources and information for faculty, staff and students related to community engagement are available through the UC Davis Public Scholars Network, UC Davis Health, Aggie Square, Global Affairs, Government and Community Relations, the UC Davis Library, the Center for Student Involvement and the Associated Students of UC Davis.