The University of Nebraska Medical Center recently received the “Community Engagement” designation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Dr. Dele Davies, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, says UNMC is the only academic health science center in the country to receive the designation.
Davies says UNMC has students who go out and do service learning activities where they participate in projects that help them learn but also help the community.
Programs include clinics that provide free or low cost health care as well as workforce development and dental care.
"It also means that we as an organization really take engagement with the community as an important aspect of what we do so we go out and seek out consultations and seek out needs within community and figure out how we can enhance the value of the organization by helping the community solve problems.”
The Carnegie Foundation defines community engagement as the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities.