The Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Reclassification, which NC State received this month, is the gold standard for recognizing institutional commitment to serving the community. This prestigious designation identifies institutions that have deeply integrated community engagement into their mission, culture and practices.

The success of our application reflects a university-wide effort, guided by a volunteer group of thirty faculty, administrators and staff who generously offered their time, expertise and insights: the NC State 2025 Carnegie Reclassification Task Force. 

The NC State Carnegie Reclassification Task Force included representation from every College and various units and programs across campus.

Task force members’ collective contributions to the Carnegie application helped ensure that the narrative and evidence included in our application accurately reflected the breadth, depth and impact of community engagement projects across NC State. Their output was prodigious, furnishing many more success stories than we had space to include in the narrative of our application. Collectively, they generated some 300 pages of content about our community engaged scholarship and activities over the last three years.

The final application featured fifty unique programs doing reciprocal engagement and outreach work in our communities.

We want you to know about the programs that helped us achieve this milestone. Throughout the spring semester, we will share stories about the programs and reciprocal relationships the Task Force identified on our LinkedIn page and through a series of articles on our website.

In the meantime, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the Carnegie Reclassification Task Force members for their engagement and support of our application:

• Helen Chen, Senior Vice Provost for Instructional Programs, Office of Instructional Programs
• Sarah Ann Craven, Director of Special Projects and Planning, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Genevieve Garland, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of Research Development and Operations and Chief of Staff, Office of Research and Innovation
• David Goldsmith, Associate Director for Collections & Research Services, University Libraries
• Sarah Langer Hall, Director, Institute for Emerging Issues
• Michelle Kurtz, Director, Student Leadership and Engagement
• Marissa Langford, Assistant Dean for College Operations, College of Engineering
• Crystal Chen Lee, Associate Professor and Senior Advisor for Strategic Excellence, College of Education
• Li Marcus, Director, Office of Undergraduate Courses, Curricula and Academic Standards
• Stephanie Money, Chief of Staff and Director of Advancement, University Advancement
• David Monks, Associate Dean and Director of Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Stacy Nelson, Professor and Associate Dean, College of Natural Resources
• Laura Nelson, Associate Vice Provost of Academic Personnel and Policy, Office of Faculty Excellence
• Scott O’Leary, Project Manager, Continuing and Lifelong Education
• Janice Odom, Director, Caldwell Fellows
• Jason Painter, Director, The Science House, College of Sciences
• Celen Pasalar, Associate Professor and Extension Coordinator, College of Design
• Donna Petherbridge, Vice Provost, DELTA
• Catherine Phillips, Director of Operations, Analysis and Planning, Office of Finance and Administration
• Mary Cole Pike, Executive Director of Communications, University Communications and Marketing
• Amy Sawyers-Williams, Executive Director, Arts NC State
• Mark Schmidt, Associate Vice Chancellor, External Affairs, Partnerships and Economic Development
• Sherri Schwab, Vice Provost, Office of Equal Opportunity
• Bailey Smith, Extension Coordinator, Wilson College of Textiles
• Rhonda Sutton, Assistant Dean for Professional Development, The Graduate School
• Lorraine Taylor, Executive Director for Extension & Engagement, CHASS
• Maggie Thompson, Communications Specialist, Chancellor’s Office
• Courtney Thornton, Associate Vice Provost for Strategy, Implementation and Communication, Institutional Strategy and Analysis
• Richard Warr, Associate Dean, Poole College of Management

Our Carnegie Community Engagement Reclassification demonstrates NC State’s sustained commitment to serving the public good, which in turn enhances the learning experiences of our students, strengthens our research relevance and aligns with our core mission and values. 

Ultimately, this recognition helps NC State amplify its impact and solidify its role as a leading engaged university for the betterment of North Carolina and beyond.