2025 Community Engagement Orientation Connects Scholarship and Community Priorities

UNC Charlotte’s 2025 Community Engagement Orientation (CEO), hosted by urbanCORE and the Division of University Advancement, was held at The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City on August 11, 2025. The day-long orientation welcomed new faculty and senior staff into the city’s social fabric and the University’s commitment to public engagement. With remarks from Chancellor Sharon Gaber alongside panels of community leaders and a neighborhood tour led by the Community Building Initiative, the experience was immersive and grounded in lived experience.

Created to align new leaders with UNC Charlotte’s community-engagement strategy, the CEO event invites participants to connect their academic expertise with the priorities of the community. The event sets the tone for research, teaching, and service that is informed by place and actioned through collaboration, gaining a clearer understanding of Charlotte and and the role the University can play in helping to address its challenges and opportunities, 

“This is my third university and I have never had an opportunity to do anything like this, even though every university talks about partnerships and community outreach,” one attendee shared.” – CEO Attendee

Survey feedback reflected a strong appreciation for how the orientation framed community engagement not as a buzzword, but as a pathway to meaningful, collaborative work .When asked about their most valuable takeaway from the day, several participants pointed to moments of personal clarity and realizations about how their own leadership shapes the university’s role in community work. For one attendee, it was the reminder of “how important my personal leadership in the space is to creating change and sustaining it.”

As UNC Charlotte deepens its role as a community engaged research university, experiences like CEO play a critical role in aligning new leaders with the institution’s values from the start. With the recent merging of urbanCORE and the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, the University is expanding its capacity to connect research and community more intentionally—ensuring that relationships, not just resources, guide the work ahead.