The university was recognized this month by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, in partnership with the American Council on Education, for its commitment to community and civic engagement.
Elon University has been awarded the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation bestowed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, in partnership with the American Council on Education.
The classification recognizes the university’s deep commitment to community and civic engagement, and it follows a recent U.S. News & World Report ranking naming Elon second in the nation for service-learning.
“While we are honored by the national recognition for excellence for service-learning, what matters most is the lasting impact that our students and faculty create through engagement in their communities,” said Jon Dooley, vice president for Student Life and associate professor of education. “The work prepares graduates who become thoughtful leaders, making meaningful contributions throughout their lives.”
In announcing the recognition, leaders at the Carnegie Foundation emphasized the national importance of higher education’s role in community engagement.
“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 Carnegie Foundation President Timothy F.C. Knowles. “We celebrate each of these institutions, particularly their dedication to partnering with their neighbors – fostering civic engagement, building usable knowledge, and catalyzing real-world learning experiences for students.”
Bob Frigo, assistant dean of campus life and director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, said the significance of the recognition for Elon cannot be overstated.
“At a moment when the purpose and value of higher education are being debated across the nation, Elon University is recognized as a powerful example of what is possible when education is grounded in service to the public good,” Frigo said. “This recognition affirms what we see every day – when students, faculty, staff and community partners come together through community-based experiential learning opportunities, the results are transformative.”
The Carnegie Foundation describes community engagement as the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global). Collaboration is for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to:
- Enrich scholarship, research and creative activity
- Enhance curriculum, teaching and learning
- Prepare educated, engaged citizens
- Strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility
- Address critical societal issues
- Contribute to the public good
The Carnegie Foundation’s description guided the development of the university’s application, which highlighted how these principles are implemented across Elon’s campus.
Professor Phillip Motley, director of graduate programs for the School of Communications and former faculty fellow for community-based learning, partnered with Frigo to write the application, which illuminated the work of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Center for Access and Success, Department of Human Service Studies, Poverty and Social Justice Minor, and Council on Civic Engagement.
The application also featured examples of campus-community partnerships, including:
- School of Health Sciences and Alamance Dream Center
- School of Law’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic and North Carolina
- Department of Health and Human Services State Refugee Office
- Department of Physical Therapy Education and HOPE Clinic
- Student Professional Development Center and Alamance County Chamber of Commerce
- Department of Engineering and City of Graham Recreation and Parks Department
- Kernodle Center for Civic Life and Alamance County Board of Elections
- Center for Access and Success and Alamance-Burlington School System
- Athletics and Allied Churches of Alamance County
- Project Pericles and the Sri Lankan non-governmental organization Sarvodaya
- Fraternities and Sororities and Habitat for Humanity
- Human Service Studies and Red Shield Youth Club
- Departments of Biology, Environmental Studies, Education and Wellness, Elon Academy, and Clean Haw River
- Poverty and Social Justice Minor and Mayco Bigelow Community Center
- Power and Place Collaborative and African-American Cultural Arts and History Center
Elon’s classification was awarded after an intensive self-study process and external validation by a range of community partners. The university was one of the first institutions in the nation to receive the initial community engagement designation in 2006 and was re-classified in 2015.
“The institutions receiving the 2026 Community Engagement Classification exemplify American higher education’s commitment to the greater good,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “The beneficiaries of this unflagging dedication to public purpose missions are their students, their teaching and research enterprises, and their wider communities.”
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the nation’s leading framework for categorizing colleges and universities. The community engagement classification has been the leading mark of national recognition for over two decades. A complete listing of the 277 institutions that currently hold the classification endorsement is available online.
The university plans to celebrate this recognition at a campus-wide reception on Friday, March 6, at 5 p.m. in the Koury Center Concourse after the March faculty meeting.
About Elon University
Elon University is a nationally recognized leader in engaged, experiential learning that prepares graduates to be creative, resilient, ambitious and ethical citizens of our global culture. At Elon, more than 7,000 students learn through hands-on experiences and close working relationships with faculty and staff. More than 70 undergraduate majors are complemented by professional and graduate programs in law, business administration, business analytics, accounting, education, higher education, physician assistant studies and physical therapy.
About the Carnegie Classifications
The Carnegie Classifications are the nation’s leading framework for categorizing and describing colleges and universities in the United States. Utilized frequently by policymakers, funders, and researchers, the Classifications are a critical benchmarking tool for postsecondary institutions. ACE and the Carnegie Foundation announced a partnership in February 2022 to reimagine the Classifications to better reflect the diversity of postsecondary institutions and more completely characterize the impact that today’s institutions have in society.
About ACE
ACE is a membership organization that leads higher education with a united vision for the future — galvanizing its members to make change and collaborating across the sector to design solutions for today’s challenges, serving the needs of a diverse student population, and shaping effective public policy. As the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, its strength lies in its diverse membership of nearly 1,600 colleges and universities, related associations, and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities.
About the Carnegie Foundation
The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life. Enacted by an act of Congress in 1906, the Foundation has a rich history of driving transformational change in the education sector, including the establishment of TIAA-CREF and the creation of the Education Testing Service, the GRE, and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education. The Foundation was also instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Department of Education and Pell Grants, and most recently in the use of networked improvement science to redress systemic inequities in educational opportunities and outcomes.