The George Washington University has earned the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a prestigious national designation awarded by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Established in 2006, the classification has served as the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 20 years.
GW’s selection marks a reclassification; the university first earned the designation in 2020. The new designation is valid through 2032.
The 277 institutions classified or reclassified in this cycle demonstrate how campuses nationwide are deepening partnerships, leveraging community assets and addressing urgent societal challenges. Reviewers cited GW’s clear alignment of mission, leadership, resources and institutional practices as evidence of sustained, strategic and impactful engagement.
“The Carnegie Elective Classification recognizes the depth and intentionality of GW’s community engagement, work that enriches student learning, strengthens research with real-world impact and anchors our institution in reciprocal partnerships built on trust and shared purpose,” said President Ellen M. Granberg. “This designation affirms that community engagement is a strategic asset for GW and a powerful driver of meaningful, lasting change.”
Service is a hallmark of the GW experience. Washington Monthly’s 2024 College Guide ranked GW fourth for service among national universities. In the 2024-25 academic year alone, GW students recorded over 643,000 hours of service, with 2,300 students reporting their work through GWServes. A total of 525 students earned the national President’s Volunteer Service Award, including 269 gold-level honorees.
That emphasis starts early as many students are first introduced to GW’s commitment to community engagement at Welcome Day of Service and Convocation, where the entire incoming class is welcomed to their new academic and civic life by faculty, staff and senior administrators. After Convocation, all new students participate in service with partners across D.C., underscoring the university’s emphasis on engagement as part of academic and civic identity.
Much of GW’s engagement is intentionally place based, focused on D.C. and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. Partnerships coordinated through the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service connect coursework, internships and research projects with local schools, health clinics, nonprofits and government agencies. More than 85 GW courses each year engage students in research and service together with organizations.
The university’s location in the nation’s capital allows those local relationships to ripple outward. Institutes such as the Global Women’s Institute conduct participatory, community-engaged research around the world, extending the model of reciprocity to global challenges.
This reclassification reflects years of sustained investment in this work.
"Earning the Carnegie reclassification celebrates the widespread, long term, collaborative work of faculty, staff, students and community organizations who join forces as problem-solvers,” said Amy Cohen, assistant vice provost and Nashman Center executive director. “This work enhances the quality of life in our neighborhoods and addresses systemic issues while advancing knowledge and discovery. The classification was designed to recognize ongoing institutional commitments and policies that uphold community-engaged scholarship and robust community partnerships, and GW has risen to that challenge with sustained dedication and impact.”
Faculty members immersed in community-engaged teaching and scholarship appreciate the university’s infrastructure and collaborative culture with the D.C. community, allowing them to conduct high-impact scholarship and teaching.
One example is the partnership between Associate Professor of Epidemiology Sean Cleary’s coursework and Our Stomping Ground, a nonprofit that supports inclusive living for people of all abilities. Cleary’s course, The Autism Experience: A Public Health Perspective, invites autistic adults and families to attend as full participants in the class.
Cleary said the collaboration benefits students and community members alike. Community members lead sessions, question presenters and help co-produce course outputs while the student teams then address those priorities such as housing, employment and health.
“Our partnership works because we have developed mutual respect, a shared purpose and a commitment to producing knowledge and outcomes that have an impact beyond the classroom,” Cleary said.
Phyllis Ryder, executive director of the GW University Writing Program, integrates D.C. nonprofits directly into her University Writing courses, giving students the opportunity to ground their ideas in concrete places.
“I used to teach about writing for social change by sharing historical and contemporary examples and inviting students to analyze those situations and propose how to intervene, but the students felt disconnected and like this was too hypothetical,” Ryder said. “By working with D.C. communities and with D.C. community leaders, students can feel the urgency and the possibility for the issues they want to explore in class.”
Since 2020, GW has expanded structures that support multidisciplinary engagement, including the creation of new research hubs such as the GW Institute for Socioeconomic Opportunity, the Global Food Institute and the Alliance for a Sustainable Future. Community-engaged scholarship at GW is defined as collaboration among faculty, students and community members in mutually beneficial partnerships that address issues of the common good. This reclassification recognizes that these values are central to GW’s mission.