“For us at YSU, the city of YOU and the communities in which we are connected, the Carnegie Foundation’s Elective Classification for Community Engagement represents a culture of grit, gratitude and enormous generosity,” Amy Cossentino, dean of the Sokolov Honors College and associate provost for Experiential Learning and Engagement, said.

The recognition was unveiled during a news conference and brief program Monday morning in Tod Hall.

Community engagement is deeply embedded in the fabric of the university’s curriculum and strategic plan via community-engaged learning classes designed to integrate academic content with community-based experiences rooted in “engagement, reciprocity, reflection and public dissemination,” Cossentino told a standing-room-only crowd of elected officials, university personnel, students and other stakeholders.

To that end, 61 courses representing multiple disciplines have earned a community-engaged learning designation.

Amy Cossentino, associate provost and dean of the Sokolov Honors College at Youngstown State University, explains the process involved in YSU being awarded the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a national recognition, for demonstrating a strong, ongoing commitment to meaningful, sustainable and vibrant partnerships with the Mahoning Valley region and beyond. (Photo by R. Michael Semple)

During her remarks, Cossentino provided a timeline of events, programs and efforts beginning several years ago that led to Monday’s designation and recognition. The process began in August 2018 when a YSU delegation attended a conference in Columbus, after which the university began to develop its strategic plan, she said.

Pivotal among such efforts was the launch in August 2022 of PenguinPulse, YSU’s primary platform aimed at further connecting campus and community partners while tracking engagement activity. Since fiscal year 2023, the effort has documented more than 233,000 engagement hours across 145 community partner affiliations, and representing in excess of $8.1 million in estimated economic value, she noted.

Also in 2022, YSU formed a Community Engagement Council and an Academic Senate subcommittee reviewed the first community-engaged learning course applications. In December, a community partner advisory council was established, Cossentino said.

In 2023 and 2024, the university was approved as part of an Engagement Scholarship consortium, and launched the Division of Experiential Learning and Engagement, with community engagement adopted as one of three pillars in YSU’s Academic Master Plan. In addition, an initiative for the upcoming Higher Learning Commission was adopted, she continued.

Last January, an application draft for the Carnegie recognition was sent to community partners, then it was submitted two months later. In October, the university took part in planning the Engagement Scholarship consortium’s national conference, Cossentino said.

With the help of some Youngstown State University students, the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classification for Community Engagement award (the plate on table) is unveiled, as Amy Cossentino, far right, associate provost and dean of the Sokolov Honors College at YSU, explains its importance to the university. (Photo by R. Michael Semple)

Of 237 institutions of higher learning across the country that have earned the Carnegie Elective classification in the 2026 cycle, YSU is one of 47 of them that have received the classification for the first time, according to a new release issued by the university.

“It was a very rigorous and demanding application process. It took years to get us to this point,” YSU President Bill Johnson said, adding, “Our students are at the center of everything we do. They’re our future leaders.”

Beforehand, the university had adopted the Carnegie Foundation’s community-engagement structure, which highlights “collaboration between institutions of higher education and their local, regional, national and global communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources,” the release states.

“This recognition affirms what our community has long known — that Youngstown State University is deeply invested in partnerships that strengthen both student learning and community impact. Community engagement is central to our vision; it represents who we are and how we fulfill our public mission,” said Johnson, who called YSU “a partner, not a spectator.”

“A well-rounded education extends outside the classroom and prepares students for success in their post-graduation world,” Mike Duffey, chancellor for the Ohio Department of Higher Education in Columbus, said in a statement. “This designation recognizes Youngstown State’s commitment to community collaboration and engagement that benefits students, the university, the Mahoning Valley and beyond.”

A large crowd turned out at Tod Hall Monday morning for the unveiling of the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a national recognition, for demonstrating a strong, ongoing commitment to meaningful, sustainable and vibrant partnerships with the Mahoning Valley region and beyond. (Photo by R. Michael Semple)

The Carnegie classification is valid until 2032, at which time YSU will seek reclassification to retain its status.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching debuted in 1905 and was chartered the following year by an act of Congress, Cossentino said.

Monday’s recognition, however, is part of YSU’s ongoing efforts to partner with numerous community entities, such as United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The university also remains committed to expanding workforce pathways, deepening local, regional and global partnerships, competing for grants and other philanthropic opportunities, attracting and retaining students and continuing to strengthen relationships between the campus and community to achieve greater impact, according to YSU’s Office of Community Engagement.