Bellarmine University is a highly engaged community of teachers and learners, an inclusive
environment where we provide a highly personalized pathway and intentional success
plan for every student. But we are also part of a larger community—Metro Louisville—and
we take our responsibility to be a good neighbor, and a valuable community resource,
very seriously. In keeping with our Catholic social justice mission, our responsibility
to the community involves building an intentional, visible and symbiotic relationship
with the city. Louisville’s businesses, corporations and non-profits provide fantastic
learning
opportunities for our students, who in turn enrich these businesses with their talent,
ideas and energy. In 2020, we created a Center for Community Engagement (CCE) to
direct our collaborative efforts. Led by Dr. Liz Todd Byron ’20 Ph.D. and supported
university wide, the CCE has created thriving partnerships through academic courses,
extracurricular
programs and university research. I was thrilled in January to receive word that this
work had received national recognition when Bellarmine achieved the Carnegie Elective
Classification for Community Engagement. Bellarmine is one of only 368 universities
in the nation to receive this
distinction, and only the second private university in Kentucky to do so, along with
Berea College. Timothy Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement
of Teaching, said the institutions that were recognized “exemplify the true spirit
of the Carnegie endorsement and the power of serving the public good.” In addition
to launching the CCE, Bellarmine’s recent actions to strengthen community engagement
include:
- Updating faculty rank and tenure processes to better support community-engaged teaching,
scholarship and service;
- Creating an hour of academic credit that can be added to an existing course for 30
hours of related community engagement;
- Adopting a Bonner Leader program that allows students to apply their federal work
study benefits through community partners such as Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Nazareth
Home and Cabbage Patch;
- Designing strong programming that supports community engagement, such as the annual
Knights in Action day of service for new students, Martin Luther King Jr. Week of
Social Responsibility in January, and Alternative Spring Break trips focused on educational
access, racial justice and access to basic human needs each February; and
- Providing grants to students who face financial barriers, making it possible for them
to complete unpaid internship experiences with nonprofit and government entities.
Esha Khan, who graduated in May 2024 with a degree in Biology, did work through the
Center for Community Engagement with organizations such as Kentucky Refugee Ministries.
She said the experience was transformative. “I am forever grateful to have the platform
to turn learning into action,” Esha said. “The CCE shaped my dedication to service,
and I'm proud to be part of a university that values community engagement. Upholding
Bellarmine's social
justice mission is both exciting, meaningful and crucial to creating a better tomorrow.”
I congratulate the Bellarmine community on its commitment to service and engagement,
and I look forward to seeing the continued impact that our students, faculty and staff
have on our Louisville home.
Photo: Bellarmine students who participated in an early campus arrival program in August
2023 volunteered at the Kentucky Refugee Ministries warehouse. Brendan J. Sullivan
