About Us
Connecting Campus and Community for Public Impact
The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) advances UTEP’s mission as a leading Hispanic-Serving, community-engaged research university. As the university’s hub for academic-based community engagement, the CCE builds bridges between campus and community to foster transformative learning, engaged scholarship, and public impact across the Paso del Norte region.
Through its leadership in engaged teaching, scholarship, and partnerships, the CCE ensures that UTEP’s knowledge, creativity, and commitment to equity directly benefit the community — and that our students and faculty grow through reciprocal, community-centered experiences.
The CCE works across colleges, departments, and disciplines to:
Learn more about our core programs and impact:
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We foster authentic, reciprocal relationships between UTEP and the community:
- Connect faculty with community partners and facilitate sustained partnerships.
- Manage and sustain UTEP’s network of 190+ active community partners.
- Host Community Partnership Recognition events and regional conferences.
- Co-lead UTEP’s participation in the Higher Education Community Engagement Southwest Region Alliance, advancing regional collaboration and capacity-building.
We help faculty and departments integrate community engagement into curricula:
- Support faculty in designing, implementing, and scaling community-engaged courses.
- Administer UTEP’s Community Engagement & Leadership (CEL) course designation — a formal pathway for recognizing high-impact community-engaged teaching.
- Lead departmental initiatives to foster culture change and embed engagement across academic programs.
We grow UTEP’s capacity for high-quality, engaged scholarship:
- Provide consultation and direct support for faculty pursuing community-engaged grant proposals.
- Develop and support faculty and student learning in community-engaged research methods.
- Support faculty with tenure and promotion processes by helping to integrate community-engaged scholarship and facilitating external reviews through the Southwest Regional Community Engagement Partnership.
- Host Faculty Fellowships to advance engaged scholarship and leadership across disciplines.
We help position UTEP as a national leader in community engagement:
- Lead UTEP’s Carnegie Community Engagement Classification process — now in its fourth cycle — strengthening national recognition of UTEP’s public impact.
- Establish and manage UTEP’s university-wide engagement tracking system (CUE + Faculty Success integration), providing essential data for institutional reporting and external recognition.
- Partner with UTEP leadership to align community engagement with institutional strategy and mission.
Carnegie Community Engagement Classification: UTEP has earned national recognition through four cycles of the Carnegie designation, with the CCE leading institutional efforts.
Community Engagement & Leadership (CEL) Designation: Courses formally recognized for integrating high-impact community engagement into academic learning.
Faculty Fellows Program: Supports faculty leaders advancing community-engaged scholarship and practice.
Engagement Tracking (CUE): Robust data collection system tracking curricular and co-curricular community engagement across campus.
Community Engagement & Leadership (CEL) Designation: Courses formally recognized for integrating high-impact community engagement into academic learning.
Faculty Fellows Program: Supports faculty leaders advancing community-engaged scholarship and practice.
Engagement Tracking (CUE): Robust data collection system tracking curricular and co-curricular community engagement across campus.
Through its work, the CCE contributes to:
- Over 190 active community partnerships across the Paso del Norte region.
- Hundreds of community-engaged courses that connect UTEP students to real-world learning experiences.
- Growing recognition of community-engaged scholarship in faculty promotion and tenure.
- A strong culture of civic and community engagement that enriches both the university and the broader community.
"Working with the CCE helped me turn my course into a space where students learn by making a difference in the community. Our partner continues to benefit from the work our students do every semester."
- UTEP Faculty Member
