New Albany, Ind. — Indiana University Southeast has earned the prestigious 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, placing the campus among a select group of colleges and universities nationwide recognized for deep, sustained partnerships that advance teaching, learning, and public impact. The designation—awarded by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching—highlights IU Southeast’s long-standing commitment to community engagement.
“Higher education is a vital economic engine for us all. Our colleges and universities not only fuel science and innovation, they build prosperity in rural, urban, and suburban communities nationwide,” said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. “We celebrate each of these institutions, particularly their dedication to partnering with their neighbors—fostering civic engagement, building usable knowledge, and catalyzing real-world learning experiences for students.”
IU Southeast is one of 48 institutions receiving the classification for the first time and one of only three in the Kentuckiana region. It is also one of eight institutions in Indiana to earn the designation and the only regional Indiana University campus to do so.
“IU Southeast is proud of its deep and sustained commitment to our community,” said Chancellor Debbie Ford. “Through community-engaged teaching and learning across our academic programs, our faculty create meaningful opportunities for students to collaborate with local partners, apply their knowledge in real-world settings, and make a lasting impact throughout the region.”
During the 2023–2024 academic year, IU Southeast students logged more than 2,600 service hours across 631 community engagement activities. These efforts included blood drives, mission projects, fundraising initiatives, participation in Big Brothers Big Sisters, drives benefiting the SouthEats Food Pantry, and the Alzheimer’s Walk. Students, faculty, and staff also participate annually in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. In January 2025, 103 students served at three community sites.
The Office of Student Life supports student engagement by providing funding for transportation to community activities and excursions, ensuring student organizations have access to resources that strengthen their service and partnership efforts.
“The designation honors the transformational work IU Southeast students, staff, and faculty do in collaboration with our community partners,” said Dr. Melissa Fry, director of the Applied Research and Education Center (AREC) and professor of sociology and sustainability and regeneration studies. “Through community-engaged learning, research, and service, our students gain experiences that deepen their connection to the region and prepare them to contribute to and lead thriving communities.”
Academic Affairs and campus departments further support community engagement through funding for class excursions, research, teaching, professional development, and innovation. These resources enable community-engaged research and service-learning initiatives. Both the New Neighbors Education Center (NNEC) and AREC also participate in ongoing dialogue with the communities they serve to ensure programming remains responsive and impactful.
“This Carnegie designation affirms IU Southeast’s role as a regional anchor institution,” said Vice Chancellor for University Relations Joe Glover. “Our partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and civic leaders strengthen workforce development, fuel innovation, and help create the conditions for long-term economic growth across Southern Indiana and the greater Louisville region. When our community thrives, our students thrive—and this recognition reflects that shared success.”
In the 2026 cycle, 237 institutions earned the Community Engagement Classification, joining those previously classified to bring the total number of institutions holding the designation nationwide to 277. The 2026 cohort includes 157 public institutions, 80 private colleges and universities, and 81 Minority Serving Institutions.
About IU Southeast: IU Southeast is one of nine campuses of Indiana University. Offering top-quality and nationally accredited programs in education, nursing, business, social sciences, natural sciences, arts and humanities, the scenic 180-acre campus is located less than 15 minutes from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It currently has over 3,750 students and employs over 360 faculty members. About 400 students live on campus in five fully furnished, lodge-style residence halls. Through an agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Indiana University Southeast offers in-state tuition to students enrolled from ten counties in the Louisville region, including Bullitt, Hardin, Henry, Jefferson, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Trimble, and Spencer counties and discounted tuition for remaining Kentucky residents through the Indiana Partner Program. For more information, visit https://southeast.iu.edu. IU Southeast is a tobacco-free campus.
About the Carnegie Classifications
The Carnegie Classifications are the nation’s leading framework for categorizing and describing colleges and universities in the United States. Utilized frequently by policymakers, funders, and researchers, the Classifications are a critical benchmarking tool for postsecondary institutions. ACE and the Carnegie Foundation announced a partnership in February 2022 to reimagine the Classifications to better reflect the diversity of postsecondary institutions and more completely characterize the impact that today’s institutions have in society.
About ACE
ACE is a membership organization that leads higher education with a united vision for the future, galvanizing our members to make change and collaborating across the sector to design solutions for today’s challenges, serve the needs of a diverse student population, and shape effective public policy. As the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, our strength lies in our diverse membership of nearly 1,600 colleges and universities, related associations, and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on X @ACEducation and LinkedIn.
About the Carnegie Foundation
The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life. Enacted by an act of Congress in 1906, the Foundation has a rich history of driving transformational change in the education sector, including the establishment of TIAA-CREF and the creation of the Education Testing Service, the GRE, Pell Grants, and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education. Today, the Foundation is dedicated to the transformation of the American high school and making the postsecondary sector a more vital engine for economic mobility.
