UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — From providing no-cost medical care to those in need to helping individuals in distressed neighborhoods find a strong career path, and more, Penn State faculty, staff and students are working every day to positively impact communities across Pennsylvania and beyond through teaching, research, outreach and service.
These impactful efforts have been nationally recognized as Penn State has again earned the prestigious Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.
Awarded through the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education (ACE) on Jan. 12, the classification recognizes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities — local, regional/state, national and global — for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said, in a letter of support for the reclassification, that these kinds of community collaborations fall directly in line with Penn State’s mission as a land-grant university.
“Community engagement is not simply an element of our work — it is a defining feature of who we are as a land-grant university. It is central to my leadership and embedded in our strategy, identity and values,” Bendapudi said. “Our institution was founded on the promise of serving the people of Pennsylvania through education, research and public service. For more than 170 years, we have honored that commitment through outreach and engagement efforts that span every county in the commonwealth and touch lives across generations and sectors. It is our responsibility — and our privilege — to ensure that this mission continues to thrive in ways that are meaningful and measurable.”
The foundation considers community engagement as a partnership between 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; and contribute to the public good.
The Carnegie Foundation awards the classification following a process of elective self-study by each institution, which is then assessed by a national review committee. The institutions then receive more detailed feedback from the foundation to encourage continued development of community engagement and examine where more work can be done.
Penn State’s self-study highlighted more than 100 community engagement programs, events and courses that the University facilitates in every corner of the state and beyond, including:
- LION Mobile Clinic: A no-cost medical clinic serving local community members inside a traveling camper. These Penn State physicians, staff and students use “tailgate medicine” to bring the University’s land-grant impact to life and health care to the doorsteps in rural communities across central Pennsylvania.
- Local Climate Action Program: This program, through Penn State Sustainability, brings students, faculty, local governments, and experts from different fields together to support and create a thriving and prosperous future for all Pennsylvanians.
- Interdisciplinary Study of Street Medicine: Offered through the Department of Kinesiology in Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development with the support of Penn State Conferences and Institutes, this course includes a hands-on experiential education experience with a Penn State alumni’s street medicine program.
- National Green Infrastructure Certification Program: This program, through the Franco Harris Pittsburgh Center at Penn State, increases employment opportunities, particularly for individuals from distressed communities in western Pennsylvania, by preparing them for careers in environmental stewardship and infrastructure maintenance.
Larry Terry, vice president for Penn State Outreach, said these community engagement programs serve as an example of the University’s role in helping to shape the present and future of Pennsylvania.
“Community engagement is fundamental to Penn State’s land-grant mission and our commitment to the commonwealth,” Terry said. “This recognition highlights the impact we co-create with communities across Pennsylvania through meaningful local, regional and statewide partnerships.”
Penn State first received this classification in 2008, and it was renewed in 2015. The University’s most recent reclassification process began in 2024 and was submitted in April 2025. As part of the process, a multi-departmental task force, chaired by Michael Zeman, director of experiential learning for Penn State Outreach, engaged with more than 250 University and community partners to complete the deep, institutional self-assessment.
Penn State will receive a detailed feedback report from the Carnegie Foundation this spring. Ahead of the report and influenced by Penn State’s 2025 Strategic Plan — particularly the goals of “Enhancing Student Success” and “Increasing Land-Grant Impact” — the University has committed to strengthening its community engagement efforts, said Zeman.
Penn State University Park is among the 237 institutions that earned the classification in the 2026 cycle, joining the 40 institutions classified in 2024 for a total of 277 institutions to currently hold the designation. The University’s classification is valid until 2032, at which time it will need to seek reclassification.
“The institutions receiving the 2026 Community Engagement Classification exemplify American higher education’s commitment to the greater good,” said ACE President Ted Mitchel in the announcement. “The beneficiaries of this unflagging dedication to public purpose missions are their students, their teaching and research enterprises, and their wider communities.”