Grounded by its mission to empower collaboration and improve communities through partnership and reciprocity, Slippery Rock University earned recognition as one of the nation’s most prominent colleges and universities for its commitment to community engagement. The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has endorsed SRU with the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
SRU, which first earned this elective designation in 2020, is one of 237 institutions to earn the Community Engagement Classification for the 2026 cycle. Schools that earned the classification in 2015 or 2020 are eligible to retain their status in 2026.
“This recognition affirms what we know to be true at Slippery Rock University: community engagement is not an initiative, but a shared commitment woven into our mission and daily work,” said SRU Provost Michael Zieg. “Earning the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification again reflects the collective efforts of our faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners whose sustained excellence, collaboration and reciprocity create lasting impact well beyond our campus. We are grateful to everyone who makes this work meaningful and transformative for our communities.”
The classification is an elective, meaning that it is based on voluntary participation by institutions and involves a self-study, data collection and documentation of important aspects of institutional mission, identity and commitments.
“Higher education is a vital economic engine for us all. Our colleges and universities not only fuel science and innovation, they build prosperity in rural, urban and suburban communities nationwide,” said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. “We celebrate each of these institutions, particularly their dedication to partnering with their neighbors — fostering civic engagement, building useable knowledge, and catalyzing real world learning experiences for students.”
The Carnegie Community Engagement classification has been the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 19 years with classification cycles in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2024 and now 2026.
More information about the Carnegie Community Engagement classification, including a complete list of institutions, is available on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education website. More information about SRU’s Center for Community Engagement is available on the SRU website.
