NYU received its third consecutive Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for its initiatives to further community service and civic engagement, announcing plans to build on the award by launching the Community Engagement Council to strengthen service programs across schools.  

The classification, which lasts for a decade, marks the university’s third recognition and is a “reclassification” of its previous awards in 2006 and 2015. The selection was based on universitywide partnerships between the university and the public — including the NYU Production Lab, NYU Votes and America Reads and Counts at NYU. Every decade, the award is designated by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and according to the press release, a new website coordinating community-led initiatives will be created soon.

Linsey Bostwick, the director of NYU Production Lab — a center that supports students and alumni in art or entertainment careers through various programs, guest speakers and podcasts — said she is “honored” to have their efforts as a development center highlighted. 

“It can be difficult, especially because NYU is so big, to have visibility around the work that we’re doing,” Bostwick said in an interview with WSN. “We try to focus not just on the education and development for the artists, but also the work and the stories that they want to share and building communities within them.”

The Community Engagement council will aim to maintain NYU’s current standing as a “community-engaged” institution across all schools and campuses by offering insight on research, courses and programs that bolster the university’s public service mission.

NYU’s chapter of America Reads and Counts provides over 120,000 hours of teaching by hiring student tutors to work with children in grades K-8 across 75 New York City public schools. NYU Votes, another  community-based program, hosts events to promote elections and partners with 130 campus ambassadors to make voting accessible. 

Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation said in the press release that higher education is a “vital economic engine” in advancing “prosperity in rural, urban and suburban communities nationwide.” To receive a Carnegie classification engagement award, universities undergo the most rigorous assessment on community engagement in higher education. NYU is one of 80 private colleges and universities to receive the award this year.

“Arts is a critical element of both civic engagement and community building from different perspectives,” Bostwick said. “Community building is also about hope, sustainability and resilience within the careers of the arts.”

Contact Aurelie Pham at [email protected].