With the support of a grant from Campus Compact, a team of 21 university and community partners met throughout the fall 1999 semester to create a set of benchmarks for the “”engaged campus”" and to assess the University of Maryland against those benchmarks. Our team was comprised of students, faculty, academic and student affairs staff, city employees, and professionals from local nonprofit agencies and public schools.

While primarily drawing from the experiences and knowledge of the individuals on the team, we also reviewed selected literature about the mission of public research universities, service-learning, and the role of universities in advancing the common good. The benefits of this project not only include the report (nine benchmarks, diagram of three models, and self-assessment), but also the growth in collaboration and shared knowledge that emerged as a result of this committee.

The team compiled a 20-page document as a result of the “”Establishing Benchmarks for the Engaged Campus”" grant project. These ideas were gathered from documents and from four intensive meetings. This report is intended to provide a snapshot in time of the nature and scope of the University s role as an “”engaged campus”". For the full report, visit http://www.umd.edu/CSP/EngagedCampus.

In addition, Dr. Charles Wellford in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences is conducting a campus-wide assessment and has requested that each department fill out forms describing their research/outreach activities that impact the local community.