University Council for Community Engagement

The University Council for Community Engagement is a vital part of creating, nurturing, and sustaining partnerships between the university and the community.

Community engagement is one of the distinctive characteristics of a USF education. This is evident in the community-engaged learning graduation requirement for all undergraduates, the prevalence of community-based faculty scholarship, and the myriad engagement initiatives and activities emanating from offices and departments across the university. Community engagement is in keeping with the mission of Jesuit higher education. USF's Vision 2028 recognizes the importance of being accountable to, and engaged with, the community in which USF is situated; and calls for an authentic, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial relationship between community and university.

Supporting the Vision

The University Council for Community Engagement supports this broader vision through its charge to:

• Guide the university’s community engagement activities to be academically rigorous experiences that cultivate mutually enriching relationships with community and embrace diversity.
• Serve as a resource to faculty, staff, student, and community partners engaging in academic and co-curricular public service and community-based programs.
• Advise the President, Provost, and USF Leadership Team on community-engagement initiatives, decisions, and issues.
• Promote programs and events focused on public service, community engagement, and community engaged learning.

Through thoughtful discussions, an abundance of hope, and the diverse lived and academic experiences we all bring, the members of the UCCE are capable of viewing, problem solving, and implementing changes that will enhance the USF mission for the next generation. Our personal, professional, and spiritual identities are a worthy contribution to the USF policy narrative, that may not have been present or considered like this before."

— Silena Layne, Faithful Fools