What is Civic Engagement?Civic engagement includes an awareness of public issues as well as active participation with community organizations.
It is defined as "collaborative activity that builds on the resources, skills, expertise and knowledge of the campus and community to improve the quality of life and to advance the campus mission. Civic engagement includes teaching, research and service in and with the community."¹
Students who are civically engaged apply what they have learned and generate new knowledge across disciplines by research and scholarship. The Center for Community Learning enables students to link community work with their undergraduate service learning courses, community-based research, and academic internships. Through these partnerships, UCLA develops tomorrow's leaders for a new, diverse democracy.
"Civic engagement is a powerful means for developing our students' knowledge and values, and for creating leaders who are prepared to deal with society's most pressing problems." - Helen S. and Alexander W. Astin, UCLA
¹ Bringle, Robert G. and Julie A. Hatcher. "Advancing civic engagement through service learning."
Public work and the academy: An academic administrator's guide to civic engagement and service-learning. Eds. M. Langseth and W. M. Plater. Bolton, MA: Anker Press, 2004. 127.
Chancellor Gene Block on Civic Engagement"At UCLA, civic engagement is an institutional priority and one that is embedded in our teaching and research mission.
"I believe that UCLA can have its greatest impact by focusing our expertise from across the campus to comprehensively address problems that plague Los Angeles. It is in our vital interests to do so.
"Today, more than ever, the public research university should engage in mutually beneficial partnerships with its greater community. When we extend the reach of our scholarship beyond our own campus, students and faculty practice what they learn and teach and discover real-world engagement.
"UCLA should serve as the model for great public research universities in the 21st century. We should lead the way in combining superior teaching, research and civic engagement."
