The University of Pittsburgh has renewed its Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a national recognition given to institutions that maintain significant partnerships benefiting both the university and surrounding communities. The designation is valid through 2032 and places Pitt among 277 institutions nationwide with this status.
This reclassification aligns with the University’s Plan for Pitt, which emphasizes community impact, student success, and scholarship that connects academic work to real-world needs. Pitt initially received the classification in 2020. Since then, the Carnegie framework has shifted to focus more on civic learning—how students participate in public life and address social challenges.
Chancellor Joan Gabel stated, “Community engagement is woven into our history and identity and is integral to the University of Pittsburgh’s mission. I want to congratulate our steering committee for successfully upholding our Carnegie Classification designation, which is a key outcome of our strategic plan, the Plan for Pitt 2028, as a reflection of our imperative to be welcoming and engaged. I look forward to seeing how our students, faculty and staff will continue to collaborate with our partners and neighbors to support and elevate our community as a whole.”
Jamie Ducar, associate vice chancellor for engagement and community affairs, explained that recent campuswide initiatives focused on discourse and dialogue contributed significantly to the application. “The intention is to showcase and lift up evidence for the pervasiveness and interconnectedness of our community engagement enterprise as an institution,” Ducar said. She added that involvement from every school at Pitt was essential: “I’m hoping this reclassification really allows us to continue our change management around community engagement, to continue to lean into our bright spots and our areas of strength that we saw.”
A steering committee made up of about 40 representatives from across 15 schools plus Student Affairs, External Relations (formerly University Relations), and the Office of the Provost led an institutional self-study during the 2024-25 academic year. This review examined how community engagement appears in teaching, research, and student experiences.
Ducar credited Amanda Brodish, assistant provost for Institutional Research and Analytics in the Office of the Provost—and co-chair of the self-study group—for her team’s contributions: “invaluable” work gathering administrative data helped strengthen storytelling efforts around Pitt’s outreach.
Brodish commented on her team’s role: “The group’s dedication to sharing Pitt stories around community engagement was inspiring and highlighted the meaningful work being done across the institution. Together, these efforts position us well to continue tracking and showcasing the impactful community engagement work of members of the Pitt community moving forward.”
According to Ducar, nearly every school at Pitt contributed examples showing how coursework, research projects, and extracurricular activities are connected with local communities. The application demonstrated both continuity—long-standing programs that have grown over time—and change through new initiatives developed in response to current needs.
“We were able to showcase a set of long-standing programs along with some new and innovative ways that we are engaging our broader communities,” Ducar said. “That’s a best-case scenario for us — keeping what works and also being able to invest in and try new things.”
Community partners participated by completing surveys evaluating their relationships with Pitt; feedback emphasized collaboration rather than one-way service.
While celebrating this recognition through 2032, Ducar noted ongoing goals such as improving data management related to engagement activities; increasing visibility for courses involving community work—including those at graduate level; as well as developing shared systems so it is easier across campus units or departments see where such activities occur.
“We truly are a different institution than we were when we put together our first application,” she said. “The work has expanded, the capacity investments have expanded, and we’ve built a level of trust across the institution that allows this work to happen.”
