UTEP Community Engagement
Meeting UTEP's Mission through Community Engagement
The University of Texas at El Paso is dedicated to the advancement of the El Paso region through teaching and learning, creative and artistic production, and the generation, interpretation, application and dissemination of knowledge. UTEP embraces its role as an intellectual, cultural and socioeconomic asset to the region, offering programs to meet human resource needs and contribute to the quality of life.
As a public university, UTEP is committed to providing access and educational opportunity to the people of the El Paso Del Norte region and the State of Texas. UTEP’s mission of ensuring access is coupled with a commitment to excellence reflected in rigorous programs, which prepare students to make significant contributions to their professions, their communities and the world.
As a research/doctoral institution, UTEP fosters a climate of scholarly inquiry, with a special focus on applying innovative interdisciplinary approaches to explore and address major issues that confront the multicultural U.S.-Mexico border region.
at confront the multicultural U.S.-Mexico border region.
Collective Impact Approach
Community engagement at UTEP operates using a collective impact framework. The provost office and center serve as a backbone organization that works with the Community Engagement Council to meet the community engagement mission.
Co-Chairs:

Members:
Elena Izquierdo College of Education |
Elizabeth Camacho College of Health Sciences |
Jeremy Slack College of Liberal Arts |
Deidra Hodges College of Engineering |
Kerry Doyle Rubin Center |
Bibiana Mancera BBRC |
Ofelia Dominguez Division of Student Affairs |
Cynthia Marentes College of Liberal Arts |
Jaime Mendez Division of Student Affairs |
Christopher Medlin School of Pharmacy |
Sandra Butvilofsky College of Education |
Jeri Sias School of Pharmacy |
Carleton Brown College of Education |
Amy Wagler College of Science |
Laura Uribarri College of Business |
Michael Garcia College of Business |
Gabby Gandara College of Engineering |
Carla Ellis School of Nursing |
Leticia Paez College of Health Science |
Ronnie Stout School of Nursing |
Jenna Lujan Center for Community Engagement |
Erika Villegas Provost Office |
UTEP Strategic Plan Goal: #3; Public Service
UTEP’s role as a major asset to the human and economic development and quality of life of the Paso del Norte region extends well beyond its teaching and research programs. UTEP’s faculty, staff and students offer their talents, expertise, time and energy to a variety of community organizations and initiatives. Through cultural and arts programming, athletic events, continuing education and lifelong learning, and a broad range of outreach initiatives, UTEP stimulates, coordinates and conducts activities that contribute to an improved quality of life in the region and enhance students’ educational experiences. During the next decade, we will continue these many efforts and develop and articulate further UTEP’s role in promoting the economic development and quality of life of the surrounding region.
- Continue to exemplify an engaged, community-centered institution that fosters human, cultural and social development and enhances the quality of life of people in the region
- Foster alignment between UTEP’s teaching, learning and research activity and the individual and collective public
- service commitment of UTEP students, faculty and staff
- Articulate broadly UTEP’s commitment to identify and address the needs of the Paso del Norte region, and develop programs and special initiatives that most effectively leverage UTEP’s capacity to respond to those needs
- Develop strategies to enhance UTEP’s role as a major economic asset to the Paso del Norte region
- Foster expansion of UTEP’s technology transfer, commercialization and entrepreneurship activity
- Continue to foster the competitive success of UTEP’s Intercollegiate Athletics Program, and the academic performance and good citizenship of student-athletes
Community Engagement Definition
Community engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity (Carnegie Foundation, 2012). At UTEP, collaboration contributes to its goal of achieving National Research University status through institution-wide engaged and integrated research, teaching and service. In addition, partnerships are developed, deployed, and evaluated with substantial participation from all involved parties (provost’s Task Force on Community Engagement, 2012).
Community engaged scholarship is the creation, exchange, and dissemination of knowledge, information, and expertise between community and university representatives aimed at addressing social issues and promoting the public good. It is based on interdisciplinary, reciprocal, sustainable, equitable and mutually beneficial scholarly partnerships.