Reflecting on Impact: Council for Community Engagement’s End-of-Year Gathering
As we close out another impactful year at VCU, the Council for Community Engagement held its annual end-of-year meeting to reflect on the powerful work across our University and look ahead at what’s next.
At the heart of our gathering was a 6-minute video highlighting the Division of Community Engagement’s accomplishments over the past academic year. Guided by a singular focus—impact—our work has been defined by deep collaboration, innovation, and sustained partnerships that uplift and respond to community priorities.
From health and wellness to economic development, place-based work, and student engagement, the video underscored the Division’s commitment to long-term, reciprocal relationships. Programs like the Mobile Health and Wellness Program at the VCU Health Hub at 25th, the Youth Advisory Council Podcast at the Mary and Frances Youth Center, and the Advanced Certificate in Youth Development Management show how community voice and need drive our programming and partnerships. Throughout our communications, research, along with capacity-building efforts, amplified this impact, reaching new audiences and ensuring accountability.
Looking forward, the Division is preparing to leverage the Carnegie Community Engagement Re-classification, pilot the Collaboratory data platform, and sharpen our tools for assessing and measuring impact.
Council committee members shared highlights from the past year and discussed what lies ahead:
- Infrastructure & Policy Committee served as a think tank for the Carnegie application and is now working to define VCU’s role as an anchor institution.
- Partnership Committee focused on aligning university capacity with community voice, facilitating a bulk upload of 100+ partners into Collaboratory, and expanding roles for community leaders.
- Education & Training Committee launched new training modules and is developing microcredential pathways for students, faculty, staff, and community members.
- Economic Development Committee supported job placement for students, discovered economic development training badges with the Da Vinci Center, and strengthened career readiness pipelines.
- Grants & Awards Committee designed two new community engagement award programs and a recognition process for outstanding contributions.
- Research Workgroup Committee hosted community-engaged research events and provided training and resource support for VCU’s Carnegie renewal and beyond.
During breakout sessions, members shared thoughts on deepening our council’s impact, including how to elevate underrepresented voices, use data meaningfully, align our language across initiatives, and ensure the council reflects the diverse communities we serve.
As our Council Co-Chair, Sheryl Garland, reflected, “If we know the roadmap of our work, we’ll always end up on the right side.” The work of community engagement is continuous—but with shared purpose, sustainable infrastructure, and inclusive leadership, the path forward is full of promise.
We are grateful for the Council’s dedication and energized for the year to come.