{"id":79978,"date":"2021-11-24T15:11:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T20:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?p=79978"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:36:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:36:21","slug":"embracing-connections-through-carletons-new-centre-for-community-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/2021\/embracing-connections-through-carletons-new-centre-for-community-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing Connections Through Carleton\u2019s New Centre for Community Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Embracing Connections Through Carleton\u2019s New Centre for Community Engagement\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

On Oct. 27, more than 150 Carleton faculty, staff, students and community partners gathered to formally mark the launch of the university\u2019s new Centre for Community Engagement<\/a> (CCE). The Centre was established earlier this year to support the value and practice of community engagement, a priority highlighted in Carleton\u2019s Strategic Integrated Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Centre is responsible for communicating key community engagement efforts within and outside the university, developing a data system and metrics to track engagement, coordinating communities of practice and monitoring and evaluating impact in collaboration with stakeholders across campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof. Chantal Trudel, the Centre\u2019s inaugural director, opened the event by acknowledging the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people on whose unceded and unsurrendered territory the Carleton campus is located. \u201cOne of my first tasks when I took on this role back in July was to go back and read Kin\u00e0m\u00e0gawin<\/em>,\u201d she said. \u201cIt seemed that every single page discussed community involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunity is a central component of Carleton\u2019s founding story<\/a>,\u201d said President and Vice-Chancellor Benoit-Antoine Bacon.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cThe university was built by, for and with the community in 1942 to meet the needs of veterans returning from the Second World War. This deep connection to community continues to be an integral part of Carleton\u2019s mission and activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Carleton recently finalized an extensive review of its institutional community engagement activities as part of its participation in the Canadian Pilot Cohort of the Carnegie Foundation\u2019s Classification for Community Engagement<\/a>. This effort, led by Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Planning) Lorraine Dyke<\/a>, Associate Vice-President (Research and International) Karen Schwartz<\/a> and Prof. Emerita Katherine Graham<\/a>, helped crystalize a vision for a dedicated Centre for Community Engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough the Carnegie application process, we learned about the depth and breadth of the community engagement initiatives that were happening in all areas of the university,\u201d said Schwartz. \u201cWe realized that we could improve our community engagement efforts through investing in organizational infrastructure and staffing to help support, promote and measure these activities in a strategic way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work was further underscored by the development of the Strategic Integrated Plan in 2019-20, a process which was co-led by Prof. Lorraine Dyke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCarleton has been consistently growing, deepening and refining its commitment to community engagement through key activities,\u201d said Dyke. \u201cCommunity engagement emerged as a key theme of the Strategic Integrated Plan because we heard from our campus community that they felt strongly about engaging with the broader community in a purposeful and strategic way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In alignment with the Strategic Integrated Plan<\/a>, community engagement has continued to be highlighted in several campus-wide strategies, such as Kin\u00e0m\u00e0gawin<\/a>, the Coordinated Accessibility Strategy<\/a> and the International Strategic Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemaining true to its community-inspired roots, Carleton has supported a diversity of community engagement initiatives and activities throughout its history,\u201d said Trudel.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cThe new Centre builds on this momentum and will serve as a focal point for strategically aligning community engagement across the university and with partners.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Centre will work closely with groups across campus that focus specifically on community engagement, including Carleton\u2019s Community Engagement Steering Committee (CESC), the Committee for Community Engaged Pedagogy<\/a> (CCEP) and Carleton\u2019s Centre for Community Innovation<\/a> (3ci). In collaboration with key stakeholders\u2014including community partners, faculties and schools, professional and student services, Advancement<\/a>, the Centre for Indigenous Initiatives<\/a> and senior leadership\u2014the Centre will develop a Strategic Plan for Community Engagement (SP4CE). The SP4CE Task Force<\/a>, co-chaired by Profs. Chantal Trudel, Lorraine Dyke and Karen Schwartz, is currently being formed and will soon engage faculty, staff, students and community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launch event also included 24 presentations by individuals and groups from across campus. They reflected an impressive breadth of collective community engagement expertise. The presentations were divided into six thematic areas that covered relevant topics, such as how to begin engaging with community partners, how to evaluate community engagement and the challenges and opportunities that the pandemic has provided. Each session was recorded and will soon be added to the Centre for Community Engagement website<\/a> to allow the Carleton community to refer to them as a source of inspiration and guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In closing the event, Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Jerry Tomberlin recognized the collaborative leadership efforts across campus that led to the establishment of the new Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe continue to honour Carleton\u2019s deep community roots,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cThere are so many community engagement initiatives woven into the history of our institution, many of which have been led by people who were part of today\u2019s event, and we thank you for your continued leadership in these endeavours.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Centre for Community Engagement will support the extensive and diverse spectrum of community engagement activity that is already in action across Carleton\u2019s campus, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n