Mission & Goals

One of the five goals at The University of Montana – Missoula is to improve the support for and understanding of the Montana University System as a leading contributor to the State’s economic success and social and political well-being. A subordinate objective of this goal is for the university to expand community involvement, service and outreach activities at the campus level. The Office for Civic Engagement s mission and goals operate in accordance with this university goal.

The mission of the Office for Civic Engagement (OCE) at The University of Montana is to promote and sustain opportunities for students, faculty, and the university community to participate as partners in community-based work as a means for civic involvement aimed at addressing identified needs. This mission is accomplished by:

Intentionally developing institutional practices, policies, and capacities to foster pedagogies and activities that equip students with skills and abilities enabling them to be actively engaged citizens in a democratic society;
Serving as a focal point for students to expand professional, academic, and personal experiences through volunteerism and service learning;
Actively promoting citizenship and leadership development through collaboration with community partners to integrate service learning and extracurricular opportunities into the university educational process.

As a means to accomplish this mission, the OCE is responsible for operating and maintaining the following activities and programs.

Student Volunteer Service Projects
Implement extra-curricular community service projects that are coordinated throughout the year in collaboration with community partners, e.g. America Reads/America Counts, Adopt-A-Family, Volunteer Fairs, Clean Start, Alternative Breaks, etc.

AmeriCorps and VISTA Programs
Coordinate and implement the UM-based Campus Corps AmeriCorps program, The Montana Technology Corps AmeriCorps program, The Community Engagement Research Fellowship Corps (CERFC) and the UM Montana Campus Compact VISTA members and Community Partners AmeriCorps program.

American Humanics & the Minor in Nonprofit Administration
Oversee the UM American Humanics program providing students with the opportunity to obtain national certification in nonprofit management and the Minor in Nonprofit Administration program.

Montana ALIVE Project
Implement the Montana ALIVE program designed to provide national service participants from across the state with the opportunity to enroll as UM students and gain graduate-level academic credit for service learning performed during their term of service.

Engaged Scholarship
Promote, support, and sustain academic programs for service learning and community based research.

Website: http://www.umt.edu/dhc/oce/