Many students who come to the University of Denver want to contribute to the public good and con­tinue their civic development. The Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL) leads the campus in embracing the University of Denver’s commitment to “being a great private university dedicated to the public good.” CCESL's vision is to be a university working with communities to improve lives. Therefore, CCESL programs focus on activating student, faculty, and community potential through reciprocal collaborations that are guided by a community organizing framework. Community organizing is about people working together for lasting social change.

CCESL provides opportunities for students to engage in meaningful collaborations with communities. Students develop the knowledge, skills, and commitments to become agents of collaborative change, believing in their power to act in concert with others. Students tackle grand challenges and connect with university and community change-makers when they apply their academic learning to public problems through DU Grand Challenges. Students connect learning and doing through community-engaged courses that involve partnerships between classes and communities. These courses offer students opportunities to advance critical thinking, develop civic skills, address public problems, and develop leadership skills. Students advance discovery by working with faculty to do research and creative work with community partners for the public good. Honing skills to become tomorrow’s civic leaders, students learn to collaborate through research and creative work with community partners from CCESL’s Scholar Shop. As Community-Engaged Fellows or Scholars, students develop their civic identities while preparing for active participation in civic life through public good work and community organizing. Students connect community-engaged activities to academic learning through critical reflection, examination of root causes, community building and increasing campus and community capacities. 

CCESL is a gateway for students to deepen their public good work. Please visit our website at https://academicaffairs.du.edu/ccesl or call at 303-871-3706, or email ccesl@du.edu.