Penn receives national distinction for community engagement

Penn has received the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification awarded by the American Council on Education and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for its commitment to community engagement. Penn was among 237 U.S. colleges and universities to earn the distinction this year and will hold the designation through 2032.

Penn was one of the first institutions, and the only Ivy League University, to earn the classification in 2006 when it was launched; and it received reclassification in 2015. The University was also instrumental in Carnegie’s pilot efforts for the Community Engagement Classification in the early 2000s.

“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 recognition acknowledges Penn’s long-standing commitment to community-engaged scholarship and partnerships, particularly in West Philadelphia and beyond. The designation also increasingly reflects an emphasis on democratic partnerships and civic engagement.

“We are very proud of Penn’s Community Engagement Classification,” says Provost John L. Jackson Jr., “which reflects the strong commitment to community engagement across our campus. In Principle and Practice, our strategic framework, calls on members of the Penn community to deepen connections with our neighbors and our world, as one of five core practices that support and strengthen our academic mission. Penn’s anchoring in Philadelphia is essential to our identity, our history, and our values; and we are deeply grateful to the Netter Center for Community Partnerships for helping to lead this work for almost 35 years.”

Penn’s application, guided by the Provost’s Office and the Netter Center, included conversations and contributions across all 12 Penn schools and many administrative units, cultural institutions, and interdisciplinary programs.

The Carnegie Foundation commended Penn’s application for demonstrating “excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement.” Carnegie also noted: “This cycle demonstrated how campuses nationwide are deepening partnerships, leveraging community assets, and addressing urgent societal challenges—work your institution has advanced with clarity and distinction.”

The application featured the work of longstanding centers dedicated to local, mutually beneficial civic and community engagement, most notably the Netter Center (established in 1992) and Civic House (established in 1998), as well as significant new university-wide initiatives to advance the work,  such as the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Community Engaged Scholarship. It further highlighted eight representative academic-community partnerships involving all 12 schools, particularly with University-Assisted Community Schools in West Philadelphia and other local cultural, health, and educational organizations, several of which have been supported with Projects for Progress awards from the Office of Social Equity and Community.

1. West Philadelphia High School University-Assisted Community School
2. Hamilton Elementary School University-Assisted Community School
3. The Galápagos Education and Research Alliance (GERA)
4. The Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE)
5. Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center
6. United Community Clinic and African Family Health Organization (AFAHO)
7. WB Saul High School–Penn Vet Partnership
8. West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance/Paul Robeson House and Museum

“We are especially grateful to the many faculty, staff, students, and community members who co-created and developed the initiatives featured in the Carnegie application,” said Rita Hodges, associate director of the Netter Center. “We look forward to using the Carnegie process and designation to further strengthen community-engaged scholarship, which both advances knowledge and has a direct positive impact on campus, in the community, and beyond.”