Oregon State University has earned its third Carnegie Community Engagement Classification — a national designation that recognizes OSU’s deep and ongoing commitment to serving communities throughout Oregon and beyond.
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Originally awarded in 2010 and reaffirmed in 2020, the classification has remained in place throughout each cycle, with the 2026 designation further confirming OSU’s long‑standing leadership in community‑focused teaching, research and outreach.
“OSU’s deep community engagement, built on partnerships and programs that address urgent societal challenges, is central to who we are and everything we do as a land-grant university,” OSU President Jayathi Murthy said. “Our commitment to co-creating knowledge, solutions and opportunities informs our research, enriches the student experience and supports a prosperous future for all.”
In awarding the designation, the Carnegie Foundation praised OSU’s strong alignment of mission, leadership, resources and practices that support meaningful and effective community engagement. The foundation also recognized OSU’s clear focus on building strong partnerships and addressing urgent needs in communities.
“Through this third Carnegie classification, OSU continues to show how a modern land-grant university serves people, advances knowledge and helps build a stronger future for Oregon and in broader contexts,” said Marina Denny, associate vice provost for engagement in the Division of Extension and Engagement.
That work is rooted in OSU’s role as Oregon’s land-grant university and is guided by the university’s strategic plan, Prosperity Widely Shared, which calls for expanding opportunity, strengthening partnerships and building solutions that benefit people and places across Oregon, the nation and the world.
Across the state and beyond, OSU employees, staff, students, volunteers and partners work with communities to support lifelong learning and co-create innovative solutions to local challenges. This work is community centered. It begins by listening, builds through partnership and grows through collaboration across boundaries to multiply impact.
OSU’s approach is guided by integrity, reliability and accountability — showing up, following through and building trust over time.
These values are visible in projects that connect research, education and real-world needs. One recent example received national recognition. A team led by Leigh Torres of OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute and Oregon Sea Grant Extension earned the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award for its work to protect whales and support Oregon’s $7 million commercial Dungeness crab fishery.
The project brings together OSU researchers, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, commercial fishers and environmental groups to reduce whale entanglements while keeping the fishery strong. The team qualified for the Magrath award by first earning regional recognition through the 2025 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award.
This work is part of a much broader statewide mission. Programs such as the Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension Service, Forest Research Laboratory and OSU’s nationally ranked Ecampus deliver research, education and practical tools to people throughout Oregon and around the world.
As a central part of this effort, OSU Extension serves all 36 Oregon counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, providing trusted, research-based information and helping Oregonians improve their lives, communities and local economies.
Highlights of OSU’s community engaged teaching, research and outreach work are detailed in OSU’s 2025 Biennial Engagement Report.
Examples of community-engaged projects highlighted in the report include:
- Access OSU partners with families, students and community organizations in the Portland Metro area to make college more accessible and inclusive through programs and experiences that open doors, build confidence and guide students toward their next steps in education.
- OSU faculty created a Mexico study abroad program where students delivered free care to 600 animals, gaining hands-on training, cultural exchange, community education and preparation for rural service.
- A new collaboration between Ecampus and the Technology Association of Oregon gives 90,000 tech employees and spouses online scholarships for degrees, certificates and microcredentials; helping professionals statewide.
- OSU faculty and the Yurok Tribe co-led Klamath River research during dam removal, blending Indigenous and Western knowledge to guide decisions, build trust and train students.
All of this work connects to a larger national movement. The Carnegie Community Engagement Classification began in 2006 as a voluntary process that examines how well universities work with communities through teaching, research and outreach.
The designation also follows another major achievement for OSU. In 2025, the university earned the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation.
Together, these honors reflect both OSU’s values and its results — from stronger local economies and workforce development to new research, innovation and opportunity.
~ Story by Chris Branam
