The Center for Civic Engagement

Carnegie Application

Carnegie Election Classification for Community Engagement

Hofstra University is committed to engaging with the surrounding community in ways that mutually benefit both. That engagement includes various forms of research, service learning, public service, advocacy, and the shared use of resources. Consequently, we have elected to apply for Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a classification that will recognize the university for the many community engagement investments we make. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching awards these classifications. The process of applying for this classification is a welcome opportunity for the university and prominent community leaders to review our various forms of engagement, better direct community engagement in the future, and clearly understand what we all mean by “community engagement.”

Currently, Hofstra University is undergoing a self-study directed by its Center for Civic Engagement. This self-study will equip us to answer the detailed application and involves three key parts: 1) developing a university-wide definition of “civic engagement” (used interchangeably with community engagement), 2) survey the various forms of civic engagement performed by the academic and administrative areas of the university, and 3) develop aspirations for future forms of civic engagement.

The process involves three committees (Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) Core Committee, Hofstra Community Committee, and an Administrative Committee). Each committee has a unique purpose and charge aimed at helping complete the application. The CCE Core Committee will direct the application process while authoring the application. The Hofstra Community Committee will deliberate the university’s civic engagement definition and help draft various application answers. The Administrative Committee will help answer questions that administrators have both unique authority and information to answer.

Hofstra University’s Definition of Civic Engagement (2/15/2023)

Civic engagement describes cooperative collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, experience, and resources. Civic engagement involves a process of applied learning whereby the university is partnered with civil society to strengthen democratic practices and contribute to the public good. Civic engagement enriches scholarship, research, and creative activity while enhancing curriculum, teaching, and learning.

The CCE Core Committee

Chair - Phil Dalton (Director, Center for Civic Engagement/Department of Writing Studies and Rhetoric)

Margaret Abraham – Department of Sociology
J. Bret Bennington – Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability
Athelene Collins – Hofstra Cultural Center
Mario Murillo – Office of the Dean, Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
Chanda Washington, Associate to the President for Government and Community Affairs.

CCE Core Committee’s Charge

The CCE Core Committee exists primarily to coordinate the completion of the application. The CCE Core Committee, in consultation with the Administrative Committee, will make the final determination of content in the application. CCE Core Committee will write the campus survey. CCE Core Committee will answer some questions in the application on its own. CCE Core Committee will write some draft answers and submit to the University Community Committee for deliberation and revision. CCE Core Committee will write some answers in consultation with Institutional Research.

Hofstra Community Committee and its Charge

The Hofstra Community Committee exists to invite and involve various corners of the university and the community in the process of completing the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement. Though draft answers to all application questions will be available for Hofstra Community Committee comment,  the Hofstra Community Committee is specifically charged with answering questions that will benefit from cross-university input. The Hofstra Community Committee will deliberate the university’s working definition of “civic engagement” and the fitness of the campus mission and vision to civic engagement, generating input that will inform a draft definition written by the CCE Core Committee. The Hofstra Community Committee will answer various questions following completion of a campus survey on civic engagement. The Hofstra Community Committee will offer comment and review of CCE Core Committee answers.

Hofstra Community Committee

Phil Dalton - ChairDirector, Center for Civic Engagement/Department of Writing Studies and Rhetoric
Margaret AbrahamDepartment of Sociology
Karen AlbertHofstra University Museum of Art
Gillian AtkinsonIntercultural Engagement and Inclusion, The Division of Student Enrollment, Engagement and Success
J. Bret BenningtonDepartment of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability
Judy BrennerOffice of the Dean, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Scott BrintonDepartment of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations, Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
David BurghardtThe Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Lauren Burignat-KozolOffice of the Dean, Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College
Rebecca CelorioStudent-Athelete Development and Services
Athelene CollinsHofstra Cultural Center
Cornell CraigChief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Office of Equity and Inclusion
Jeffery DanielsDeputy Mayor, Inc. Village of Hempstead
Greg DeFreitasCenter for Study of Labor and Democracy
Janet DolginGitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy, Maurice Deane School of Law
Anita EllisCommuting Student Services, The Division of Student Enrollment, Engagement, and Success
Paul GibsonPresident, Greater Uniondale Area Action Coalition
Sarah GlasserJoan and Donald E. Axinn Library
Sharon GoldsmithInstitute of Innovation & Enterprise, Center for Entrepreneurship, Frank G. Zarb School of Business
Martine HacketSchool of Health Sciences
Richard HayesInstitute of Innovation & Enterprise, Center for Entrepreneurship, Frank G. Zarb School of Business
Waylyn HobbsMayor, Inc. Village of Hempstead
Jennifer KamphInstitutional Research & Assessment
Rochelle Kelly-ApsonBoard President, New Hour
Hak KimCybersecurity Innovation & Research Center, Frank G. Zarb School of Business
Julian KuOffice of the Dean, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Mary Ellen LaSalaThe Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies
Johana Lastor MontesGraduate Assistant, Center for Civic Engagement
Larry LevyNational Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University
Theo LiebmannFreedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Jonathan LightfootCenter for "Race," Culture and Social Justice
Veronica LippencottAfricana Studies Program/Center for "Race," Culture and Social Justice
Paul MellerSchool-Community Psychology, Department of Psychology
Mario MurilloOffice of the Dean, Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
Chris NiedtDepartment of Sociology/ National Center for Suburban Studies and Hofstra University 
Kenia NunezEntrepreneurial Assistance Center, Business Development Center, Hofstra University
Ashira Pelman OstrowThe Wilbur F. Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies, Maurice A Deane School of Law
Rosanna PerottiPolitical Science and Hofstra Votes Campaign
Bradley PhillippiDepartment of Anthropology
Brittany RhodenTitle IX Coordinator, The Division of Student Enrollment, Engagement, and Success
Anthony RobinsonCenter for Educational Access and Success at Hofstra University
Tomeka RobinsonOffice of the Dean, Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College
David RooneyOffice of the Dean, The Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Benita SampedroLatin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Hofstra
Jessica SantangeloDepartment of Biology
Joseph ScardapaneExecutive Director, Saltzman Center, The Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center at Hofstra University
Roosevelt SmithNew Opportunities at Hofstra
Debbie TinnirelloNational Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University
Lutisha Vickerie-DearmanOffice of the Deean, Frank G. Zarb School of Business
Aisha Wilson-CarterOffice of Equity and Inclusion
Lauris WrenAsylum Clinic, Maurice A Deane School of Law

Admin Committee

The Administrative Committee is charged with answering questions in the Carnegie Civic Engagement Classification application that it is best equipped to answer.

Upcoming Dates & Deadlines

  • 2/3 - HCC opening deliberations on “civic engagement” complete.
  • 2/6 - CCE Core Committee shares draft definition with HCC informed by HCC deliberations. HCC is invited to offer additional comments. 
  • 2/15 - Final definition is determined by CCE Core Committee
  • 2/15 - Campus Survey Disseminated
  • 3/10 - Campus Survey Returned
  • 3/17 - CCE processes survey results for several committees (HCC, Core, Admin). Survey results are used to draft answers to assigned application questions.
  • 4/7 - Committee answers due.
  • 4/28 - Core Committee reviews and edits all answers, and completes application.
  • 5/1 - Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement application submitted.