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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.

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.

 

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.

  1. 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
  2. Foster alignment between UTEP’s teaching, learning and research activity and the individual and collective public
  3. service commitment of UTEP students, faculty and staff
  4. 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
  5. Develop strategies to enhance UTEP’s role as a major economic asset to the Paso del Norte region
  6. Foster expansion of UTEP’s technology transfer, commercialization and entrepreneurship activity
  7. Continue to foster the competitive success of UTEP’s Intercollegiate Athletics Program, and the academic performance and good citizenship of student-athletes

View UTEP's Strategic Plan

Community Engagement

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).

To be updated in Fall 2019 to reflect UTEPs recent achievement of Carnegies R1 status.

Community Engaged Scholarship

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.

Expertise Connector

Co-Chairs:

 

Ann Gates

agates@utep.edu
CCSB 3.1002
                                     (915) 747-7689

 

Azuri Gonzalez

Center for Community Engagmenet

azurig@utep.edu 
1514 Hawthorne
(915) 747-7969


 

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