Buffalo’s commitment to community engagement is evident in its various collaborative initiatives. To understand these efforts, it’s crucial to define the key terms outlining this engagement and its impact.
Active Citizen: An individual prioritizing community in their values and choices, viewing the world through a justice-oriented lens and acting on issues impacting their community. They may not address every social issue but actively engage with those personally significant.
Anchor Institution: A place-based entity utilizing its economic capacity, human and social capital, and intellectual resources to improve the surrounding community’s health, equity, and overall well-being. Examples in Buffalo could include universities and hospitals.
Civic Engagement: An educational focus on developing students into global citizens through meaningful civic education and activities promoting social good. This includes reflection and engagement components.
Community Engagement: A collaborative exchange of knowledge and resources between higher education institutions and their communities (local, regional, national, global) to benefit all participants. This enhances scholarship, research, curriculum, and prepares engaged citizens. This definition is based on the Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification (2015). Buffalo’s many partnerships exemplify this definition.
Community Service: Volunteerism performed by students for community benefit. This can include structured projects, group efforts, fundraising, or individual volunteerism acknowledged by the campus.
Community-Engaged Research: A collaborative knowledge creation and dissemination process between researchers and community partners, aiming to contribute to the academic discipline and community well-being. This research leverages the assets of both the campus and community.
Community-Engaged Scholarship: Addresses community-identified needs through research, teaching, and service, creating and sharing knowledge collaboratively with the community. Its quality and impact are assessed by both academic peers and community partners. This is a key element of Buffalo Activity Partners’ work.
Community-Engaged Service: Applying professional expertise to address community needs, supporting the goals of both the university and the community. This may involve providing expertise, resources, and services.
Community-Engaged Teaching/Learning: A pedagogical approach connecting students, faculty, and staff with activities addressing community needs through mutually beneficial partnerships. Examples include service-learning courses and undergraduate research. This is a cornerstone of Buffalo’s commitment to engaged scholarship.
Partnership: A collaborative exchange of knowledge and resources between faculty, staff, students, higher education institutions, and community organizations. Service-learning and community-engaged learning are prime examples. Buffalo thrives on these collaborations.
Service-Learning: A credit-bearing educational strategy integrating meaningful community service addressing community needs with instruction and reflection. This enriches the learning experience and strengthens communities.
Social Responsibility: A framework where individuals and organizations behave ethically towards social, economic, and environmental issues, recognizing their choices’ impact on the wider world.
Urban-Engaged Campus: A university’s location provides an ideal environment for strategic partnerships focused on connections and collaborations benefitting the economic and social well-being of urban areas and the university. Buffalo State’s urban setting fosters this type of engagement.
These definitions were submitted to SUNY as part of Buffalo State’s Applied Learning Plan, highlighting the commitment to experiential learning within these community engagements. “Applied Learning” refers to an educational approach where students learn through the direct application of skills and knowledge.
