American Council on Education, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recognize MSU with national community engagement distinction
Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is being nationally recognized for its commitment to integrating community engagement with university teaching and learning strategies and is reaffirming its commitment to building robust, sustainable partnerships that create lasting impact.
The American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are applauding the university for its designation with the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement. The achievement renews MSU’s earlier attainment of the distinction, which is eligible for renewal application again in 2032. The university has held the honor since 2010.
“Outreach and engagement are a vital part of our land-grant mission and something that has been part of our DNA throughout the university’s 148-year history,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “This Carnegie Community Engagement classification is an esteemed honor, and it demonstrates the collective, universitywide effort across every college and unit to strengthen our state, region, nation and world through meaningful, collaborative partnerships.”
MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw said the recognition is a powerful affirmation of university faculty and staff’s deep commitment to working alongside community stakeholders, reflecting MSU’s mission and values.
“This highlights MSU’s purposeful collaboration with our local community and partners across the state of Mississippi—as well as through our national and global partnerships—to exchange knowledge and resources for mutual benefit and far-reaching positive impact,” Shaw said.
MSU’s work also has been recognized with the Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. Shaw said the university embraces its role as a catalyst for economic development by leveraging research activity to create new economic opportunities in Mississippi. The Center for Community-Engaged Learning, Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement and Maroon Volunteer Center coordinate campus community engagement, service-learning and volunteerism efforts. MSU’s Extension Service also has a presence in every Mississippi county to deliver education and research that has immediate application and changes lives.
Shaw thanked retired Associate Vice President for Outreach and Engagement Gary Jackson for his leadership of the Carnegie Community Engagement application process, which involved a rigorous self-study that Jackson spearheaded before he retired in 2025. He served in the AVP role for more than three years and previously was director of the MSU Extension Service for more than a decade, as well as a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty member since 1990.
“Gary Jackson’s leadership was instrumental in guiding this process and strengthening Mississippi State’s culture of engagement,” said Keith Coble, vice president of the MSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. “His work, particularly through Extension, helped ensure that community engagement remains deeply rooted in how we serve Mississippi, and we are building on that strong foundation.”
Joe Fratesi, MSU interim executive director for Outreach and Engagement and assistant director of the university’s Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development, said the self-study process gave the chance “not only to highlight the incredible engagement happening across the university, but also to thoughtfully evaluate how we can continue to strengthen and support this work.”
“Our engagement portfolio is remarkably diverse. Whether it’s local partnerships with schools and museums that inspire the next generation, regional collaborations that improve health outcomes, statewide economic and workforce initiatives like AIM Up and the Mississippi Cyber Initiative, or international projects such as nutrition education in Guatemala—our community-engaged work is making a difference at every level,” Fratesi said.
Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation, said, “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.”
ACE President Ted Mitchell added, “The institutions receiving the 2026 Community Engagement Classification exemplify American higher education’s commitment to the greater good. The beneficiaries of this unflagging dedication to public purpose missions are their students, their teaching and research enterprises, and their wider communities.”
Learn more about Mississippi State’s community engagement at www.engage.msstate.edu.
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