About Us
Welcome to OCEP!
Welcome to the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships (OCEP)! We are delighted that you are interested in university–community engagement. Please use our side navigation to learn more about our office.
Mission
OCEP exists to expand and strengthen university–community engagement* locally and globally in support of USF's strategic priorities to:
- Change lives for the better, improve health, and foster sustainable development and positive societal change through high-impact research and innovation, including community-engaged scholarship and creative activities that benefit all members of society.
- Produce well-educated and highly skilled global citizens through a continued commitment to student success, including enhancing opportunities for all students by providing transformational learning that develops relevant applied skills and engaged outcomes.
- Create new partnerships to build a strong and sustainable future for Florida in the global economy by establishing mutually beneficial partnerships (internal and external) that enhance student access to academic programs, research, and employment opportunities.
What We Do
In support of the above goals, OCEP provides a variety of services, delivered through workshops, conferences, scholarly resources, off-campus events, one-on-one consultations, and digital media.
For faculty, we can:
- Provide you with resources for developing community engaged research and creative activities.
- Assist you in developing community engaged teaching and learning, e.g., service-learning courses.
- Help you find potential community partners and develop mutually beneficial partnerships.
- Support your community engaged research and teaching through our grant programs and grant search and proposal development services.
- Provide you with resources for developing your Tenure & Promotion portfolio that incorporates your community engaged scholarship activities.
- Assist you in linking your program evaluation and assessment expertise with community organizations.
For the community, we can:
- Connect you to USF resources, including faculty experts, service-learning students, and program evaluation and assessment.
Please contact us if you would like more information about our office and its services.
* The Carnegie Foundation defines community engagement as "collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good."