This office is established to meet three goals:
1.The university is viewed as an engaged (and engaging) partner by internal and external stakeholders in the local community, the region, the state, and globally.
2. Short-term and long-term engagement initiatives effectively meet stakeholder needs and university expectations.
3. The university can track and measure the impact of these projects and
the effects of these partnerships. Community engagement initiatives also support and serve university goals related to student, staff, and faculty recruitment, engagement, and retention; faculty scholarly productivity; and increased funding by corporate, foundation, and private donors. Community engagement, as defined by the university:
**facilitates organic and locally defined collaborations and partnerships that are mutually beneficial to all parties;
**builds on and leverages university and regional human, intellectual, financial, and technological resources; and
**addresses the needs and aspirations—environmental, social, and civic—identified by the people of Southeastern North Carolina, first, and then those of the state and the world. This office provides an infrastructure for coordinated university community engagement—including staffing, funding, policies and processes, and strategies for input, planning, assessment, and feedback—that builds on the interests and expertise of faculty, staff, students, and community members. This new unit works to better connect the campus (faculty, staff, and students) with businesses, schools, and organizations in Southeast North Carolina, through coordination without centralization, building on and leveraging the university’s resources.
