WORCESTER—Clark University has been named among a select group of U.S. colleges and universities that received the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, a national designation recognizing sustained institutional commitment to community partnerships and public engagement.
Clark is one of 237 institutions nationwide awarded the elective classification this cycle by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education. The designation highlights colleges and universities that demonstrate deep collaboration with their communities through teaching, research and service, according to a press release announcing the 2026 cohort.
The recognition puts Clark in familiar company locally, joining the College of the Holy Cross, which also received the 2026 classification and has earned the distinction in prior years.
According to the Carnegie Foundation, community engagement reflects partnerships between higher education institutions and their local, regional, national and global communities for the “mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources.” The classification evaluates how institutions integrate engagement into academic programs, research initiatives and institutional infrastructure.
In a statement, Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation, said colleges and universities play a central role beyond their campuses. “Higher education is a vital economic engine for us all,” Knowles said. “Our colleges and universities not only fuel science and innovation, they build prosperity in rural, urban and suburban communities nationwide.”
The Community Engagement Classification is awarded following a detailed self-study process conducted by each institution. The framework has served as the leading national benchmark for assessing community engagement in higher education for nearly two decades, with classification cycles dating back to 2006.
Of the institutions recognized in 2026, 48 are receiving the designation for the first time, while 189 have held it previously. The cohort includes 157 public institutions and 80 private colleges and universities, with 81 Minority Serving Institutions represented, according to the release.
Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said the designation reflects higher education’s broader public mission. “The institutions receiving the 2026 Community Engagement Classification exemplify American higher education’s commitment to the greater good,” Mitchell said in the announcement.
The Carnegie Foundation and ACE also announced that the University of San Diego will serve as the administrative and operational host for the Community Engagement Classification for the next two cycles, in 2029 and 2032.
A full list of institutions currently holding the Community Engagement Classification is available through the Carnegie Foundation and ACE.
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