On Jan. 12, 2026, ETSU was announced as one of only 277 colleges and universities to hold the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
“This designation says ETSU is among the highest quality universities when it comes to our commitment to community engagement,” said Susan McCracken, vice provost for community engagement at ETSU. “We truly are in a group of institutions that I’m really proud we’re identified with.”
Community engagement is deeply integrated at ETSU. From The Plunge, on the very first day of college, to ETSU Elevates, a program awarding students thousands of dollars to pour into community projects, opportunities to engage beyond the classroom are abundant. One community partnership McCracken highlighted is with the Hands On! Discovery Center.
“We have faculty who have done projects and worked with Hands On who are in the Clemmer College of Education, the College of Business and Technology, Arts and Sciences, and Health Sciences…so community engagement is integrated in lots of different ways.”
ETSU’s desire to further integrate community engagement on campus is evident in the recent renaming of the Office of Community Engagement to the Center for Community Engagement.
“Being recognized as a center, it really does recognize this work as being institutionalized at the university,” said McCracken. “We are the hub, and are in charge of maintaining the standards of the community engagement.”
The Carnegie Community Engagement Classification sets high standards for the university to meet, and the Center for Community Engagement at ETSU is also dedicated to reaching impressive personal goals.
“There’s been a lot that has happened in the three years since we even started the Go Beyond the Classroom initiative and the Office for Community Engagement,” said McCracken. “One of our goals is to have more than one international alternative break experience next year.”
This year, alternative breaks have already expanded with groups traveling to New York City, Cumberland Island, New Orleans, Huntington Island and two local trips with Appalachia Service Project to continue rebuilding homes post-Hurricane Helene.
“It’s an affirmation of the work that lots of people currently do, and lots of people have done for decades at ETSU,” McCracken said.
