Center for Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement Defined

Civic engagement can be a nebulous and confusing term. Here are some defnitions and understandings of civic engagement that inform our work at the CCE.

"Civic engagement is acting upon a heightened sense of responsibility to one’s communities. This includes a wide range of activities, including developing civic sensitivity, participation in building civil society, and benefiting the common good. Civic engagement encompasses the notions of global citizenship and interdependence. Through civic engagement, individuals—as citizens of their communities, their nations, and the world—are empowered as agents of positive social change for a more democratic world."

~Barbara Jacoby, Civic Engagement in Higher Education, 2009

"Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and nonpolitical processes."

~Thomas Ehrlich, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching