LYNN — North Shore Community College is the only community college in Massachusetts to win the prestigious 2020 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification thanks in part to its close ties to Lynn organizations.
The college, with its Broad Street campus and locations in Danvers and Beverly, is one of only three community colleges nationwide to receive the designation for 2020.
To cap off the honor, this is the college’s second Carnegie Foundation distinction.
“Recognition from the Carnegie Foundation is an excellent acknowledgement of progressive advancement in NSCC’s continued efforts to expand upon our commitment to community and civic engagement for our students, faculty and staff,” said NSCC President Dr. Patricia A. Gentile.
The classification, designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizes “the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.”
In NSCC’s case, Gentile and college spokeswoman, Linda Brantley, said the collaboration is built on solid bonds forged between the school’s Lynn campus and local institutions.
Gentile took the lead in organizing The CommUniverCity, a Lynn-based urban education-workforce development collaboration involving NSCC, Lynn public schools, Salem State University, the city of Lynn, Lynn Community Health Center, and the North Shore Workforce Investment Board (WIB).
“In addition to the broad impact of CommUniverCity, our students volunteer and do service learning projects in many Lynn businesses and CBO’s. We host the monthly mobile markets and are providing the location for the winter Lynn food market. Those are what immediately come to mind,” Brantley said.
CommUniverCity’s goal, according to a statement provided by the college, is to “work in integrated tandem to increasing the number of Lynn residents who attend and complete post-secondary training and education goals and enter into sustaining careers in area industry.”
In its notification letter, the Carnegie Foundation stated that NSCC’s “… application documented excellent alignment among mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement, and you were able to provide exemplary institutionalized practices of community engagement.”
Gentile is slated to retire in July and the search is underway for her replacement. She said civic engagement is at the core of NSCC’s mission statement.
“NSCC believes educating and training today’s workforce goes hand in hand with developing citizens actively engaged in promoting the public good. Studies show that students who participate in civic learning opportunities are more likely to: persist in college and complete their degrees; obtain skills prized by employers; and develop habits of social responsibility and civic participation,” she said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
