Who we are
The Division of Community Affairs is helping the University fulfill its mission to advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of Alabama through innovative programs that connect our mission of teaching, research, and service in ways that improve the quality of life for individuals and communities.
The Division of Community Affairs serves as both a major leader and partner in projects that address important community issues. The following key external partnerships help the University fulfill its mission to advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of Alabama while providing campus- and community-wide leadership of efforts designed to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities in Alabama and beyond.
The Center for Community-Based Partnerships’ role is to connect faculty, staff, students and community partners in research-based projects designed to solve critical problems identified collaboratively by community members and the University.
The mission of Crossroads Civic Engagement Center, an initiative of the Division of Community Affairs, is to develop engaged citizens for the State of Alabama and the world. We do this through teaching, research, and service focused on four civic pillars: values, knowledge, skills, and action.
The Council exists to connect faculty, staff, students and community partners in research-based projects designed to solve critical problems identified collaboratively by community members and the University. All academic disciplines are represented on a Council made up of campus and community members.
The mission of The University of Alabama’s Student Community Engagement Center is to engage students and community partners in mutually beneficial partnerships to identify and address critical community opportunities by connecting engagement to the University’s mission of teaching, research, and service.
Recent news from the Division
Engaged Scholarship at UA
Community Affairs, in collaboration with campus partners, provides research seed funding and recognition programs. The division also publishes the leading international peer-reviewed journal on the scholarship of community-university partnership and engagement. These initiatives support the efforts of faculty, staff, students, and community partners.
The University of Alabama is a member institution of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC), a non-profit educational organization, composed of higher education member institutions, a mix of state-public and private institutions. ESC’s goal is to work collaboratively to build strong university-community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship and designed to help build community capacity.
The Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship (JCES) is a peer-reviewed international journal through which faculty, staff, students, and community partners disseminate scholarly works. JCES integrates teaching, research, and community engagement in all disciplines, addressing critical problems identified through a community-participatory process.
The Division of Community Affairs offers a variety of programs that support the professional growth of UA’s faculty, staff, students, and community partners. These programs are grounded in the theoretical foundations of community engagement, built on the principles of authentic partnership, and designed to enhance participants’ scholarly work.