Gateway to Exploration

FAU Recognized as Dynamic Center of Community Engagement by the Carnegie Foundation

By Lynn Laurenti

Every university, public or private, measures itself by three key performance standards:

• Quality of education for its students

• The work its researchers carry out

• Services it renders to host communities

FAU has a long, distinguished record of excellence in the first two areas, and now it has won high recognition in the third area as well. The Carnegie Foundation recently announced that FAU is among 119 U.S. colleges and universities that have been awarded the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for 2020.

Through the Office of Community Engagement, headed by Ron Nyhan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, FAU faculty, students and staff help deliver a host of human services in cities throughout South Florida and even reaching as far as Tallahassee. More than 300 partner organizations have joined hands with the university to help address a broad range of issues, including homelessness, access to health care, affordable early childhood education and animal welfare.

“Florida Atlantic University is committed to being a force for positive change,” Nyhan said. “The Carnegie designation is a reflection of this commitment, which stems from our faculty, staff and students working with, learning from and contributing to the communities FAU serves.”

The Carnegie Community Engagement Classification is the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education.

“I’m delighted that FAU’s community engagement efforts were recognized by the Carnegie Foundation, which reaffirms the importance of our world-class educational and outreach programs and partnerships in enhancing our students’ learning experiences, while promoting community development and economic prosperity,” said FAU President John Kelly.

Examples of the university’s effective community outreach work abound throughout its large service region. Here are a few with broad impact:

• Scientists at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce have taken the lead in promoting public understanding of the Indian River Lagoon, a unique, highly diverse shallow-water estuary stretching along 156 miles of Florida’s east coast. In recent years, the lagoon has been threatened by harmful algal blooms. Free lectures by researchers working within the framework of the Indian River Lagoon Observatory are presented periodically and available to all on YouTube. In addition, members of the public can take a moderately priced educational tour of the lagoon aboard the pontoon boat Discovery, with narration by an FAU Harbor Branch scientist.

• The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing operates the FAU Community Health Center in West Palm Beach, in collaboration with community partners. In addition to seeing patients onsite, the center has an outreach team that brings healthcare services to neighborhoods where people live and work. Accessibility is also offered via telehealth technology.

• Collaboration between FAU and the South Florida Science Museum and Aquarium in West Palm Beach turned into a $2.5 million interactive exhibit called Journey Through the Human Brain, which takes visitors on a tour of the brain and its different parts and functions, including what it is that makes us all human. The permanent high-touch and high-tech exhibit gives the public a better understanding of brain health, brain medicine and brain disorders.

If you would like more information, please contact us at dorcommunications@fau.edu.