Office of the Chancellor
Office of Public Engagement
Office of Public Engagement
Mission Statement:
The Office of Public Engagement's mission is to embrace and foster a culture of trust and engagement that builds mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships. The Office of Public Engagement serves as a bridge between the university and local, state, national, and global communities. By uniting our collective knowledge; discovery; teaching and learning; faculty, staff, and student engagement; and public goods, civically engaged citizens are enriched and empowered to cultivate vibrant, safe, just, healthy, and resilient communities that create lasting societal impact.
Public Engagement Definition:
Drawing from the definition used by the Carnegie Classification, as well as other, definitions we
define public engagement as:
i. Public engagement involves faculty drawing on their expertise to address or respond to societal problems, concerns,
issues, or interests to contribute to the public good.
ii. Public engagement often occurs in collaboration with public or private communities at the local, state, national, or
international level.
iii. For the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.
iv. To the extent that they encapsulate the key concepts outlined here, a variety of other terms, such as “civic
scholarship”, “community partnerships”, “innovation and entrepreneurship engagement”, “outreach”, “public-facing
scholarship”, “public service”, “social innovation”, and “technology transfer”, may be considered public engagement in
the context of research, teaching, or service.
About the Office of Public Engagement:
In October of 2021, the Office of Public Engagement was established as a formal
entity in the Office of the Chancellor. The establishment of this entity reflects the recognition of the need for a robust campuswide
public engagement presence – locally and beyond. Also, this entity is well aligned with Goal 3 of the Next 150 strategic plan:
MAKE A SIGNIFICANT AND VISIBLE SOCIETAL IMPACT.
Recent Public
Engagement Activities
Program Highlights:
Campus-Community Compact
The Compact addresses six grand challenge areas to increase opportunities for all:
accessible technology; community relations; economic development; health,
wellness, and resilience; inclusive education; and workforce development.
There are also cross-cutting areas, including accessible campus/ transportation,
accessible information, community safety, and language (e.g., multilingualism,
communications, and messaging). The work of the Compact aligns well with
both the U. of I.'s vision of being a pre-eminent publicly engaged, research intensive,
land-grant university with global impact and goal three of the 2018-2023
Strategic Plan: The Next 150 — Make a Significant and Visible Societal Impact.
We invite you to view our Compact informational booklet to learn more about our work.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign MSI Alliance
The goal of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign MSI Alliance is to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing and obtaining doctoral degrees leading to successful careers in academia and beyond. We aim to build multi-directional partnerships between Illinois and participating MSIs and are committed to listening carefully to what current and potential MSI partners believe is needed to build a mutually beneficial and sustainable partnership to achieve this goal.
Inclusive Innovation in the Sciences:
A Blueprint for Investment + Impact
The work of PI 2 will be guided by one bold vision and four strategies that can be
adapted by PI 2 members to inform place-based planning in areas of institutional
priorities in the sciences. These four strategies reflect the fundamentals –
building strong partnerships, improving education, and providing jobs and
business opportunities. The framework integrates these fundamentals to
better contribute to more inclusive economic growth on the South Side.
1. Civic Infrastructure. Build multi-sector collaborations that enable full
participation in scientific discovery and investment on the South Side.
2. STEM Education. Increase education initiatives that strengthen the STEM
ecosystem and connect to career pathways.
3. Employment. Create internships, fellowships, and apprenticeships to support
career pathways in science, technology, engineering and community economic
development.
4. Economic Development. Leverage new developments in science and
engineering to achieve inclusive economic investment opportunities, Minority Business Enterprise/ Women Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE)
business growth, and community wealth creation.
