Purdue celebrating Office of Engagement's 20th anniversary

Purdue is celebrating 20 years of excellence in university engagement with community partners. Founded in 2001 by President Martin Jischke, the Office of Engagement supports Purdue’s land-grant university engagement pillar.

Engagement connects the University and external partners in trailblazing work – developing the next generation of leaders and innovators, tackling critical public and social challenges, and promoting economic vitality and enhanced quality of life, at home and across the globe.

“Engagement is the distinguishing feature of a land-grant institution,” says Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs and diversity. “This mandate to establish productive relationships with our myriad of stakeholders and communities is a true point of difference and makes us better in delivering on our discovery and learning missions.”

Recognition for accomplishment and scholarship

With the founding of the Office of Engagement, Purdue established itself as a leader among engaged universities. Today, Purdue is one of a select group of universities to hold the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification and the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Purdue also holds the second-highest number of Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Awards for outstanding community-university engagement work.

Steve Abel, associate provost for engagement, says, “Purdue Engagement is among the most well-recognized and respected engagement programs in the nation, if not world.  We have been very visible nationally over the past 20 years and our work relative to faculty advancement based on the scholarship of engagement is pretty much unparalleled. We are proud to advance Purdue and improve the lives of people throughout Indiana and beyond, doing our part in Purdue’s mission of engagement.”

Across Purdue’s campuses, the Office of Engagement champions the scholarship of engagement as a mechanism for faculty promotion and/or tenure. Since 2015, Purdue has promoted and/or tenured 89 faculty fully or partially on the basis of the scholarship of engagement. To support the development of these engaged faculty and staff members, the office operates three signature programs:

• The systemwide Scholarship of Engagement fellows programfor faculty.
• The Service Learning fellows program for tenure- and non-tenure-track faculty, lecturers, and graduate student instructors.
• The Societal Impact fellows programfor faculty and staff. 

To foster communication and excellence among engaged Purdue units and individuals, the office established the Engagement Associate Deans and Engagement Council advisory groups. The office also has recognized more than 100 faculty, staff, and teams for exemplary engagement scholarship and activity. Thirteen Purdue faculty and staff members have been honored with the prestigious Jefferson Award through affiliation with Multiplying Good; two Purdue honorees have received national recognition.

Engagement with students and communities

The Purdue Office of Engagement enables student-led engagement through its nationally recognized student service-learning grant program, which has engaged over 350 partners through more than 1,700 student-led projects since 2015. The office is also home to Purdue United Way, Purdue Conferences, and the Wabash Area Lifetime Learning Association (WALLA).

Externally, Purdue Engagement stewards relationships and collaborations with more than 3,000 community partners not only from its hub at the West Lafayette campus but also through regional engagement offices located throughout the state of Indiana and through the Purdue Northwest and Purdue Fort Wayne campuses. Anchored by Extension, Purdue’s oldest engagement program, Purdue engages at the county level to serve all 92 Indiana counties. Through the Purdue Center for Regional Development, launched by the office in 2005, Purdue engages at the regional level to promote regional prosperity and economic vitality.

Twenty years after its founding, Purdue Engagement continues to be a force of change to make the world a more resilient, prosperous, and equitable place for all. For more information, visit the Purdue Office of Engagement’s online home at purdue.edu/engagement.