The Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL)'s vision is a University (of Denver) collaborating with communities to improve lives. We promote this through collaboration for the public good characterized by mutual benefit, fierce optimism, tenacity, rigor, democratic participation, and inclusion.
CCESL works with students, faculty, on-campus partners, and the community through a community organizing framework. Community organizing is about people working together for systemic social change. It is about developing collective self interest by working with others and taking action on issues the community cares about through true democracy, where the power is with the people.
Community organizing is not about the short-term mobilization of bodies, protests or rallies. It is about achieving long-term change through building powerful, public relationships; influencing and negotiating with government, corporations and institutions; achieving direct representation; and holding decision makers accountable to the people through public action.
We are committed to developing active citizens as identified in our student learning outcomes.