Our Work

Since establishing a Center in 1992, Loyola University Maryland has offered robust undergraduate student outreach and leadership in service and volunteerism with community partners across Baltimore, started a strong academic community-engaged learning and scholarship program with Loyola faculty, and developed and implemented local and international experiences for Loyola students immersive learning through accompaniment.

Today, the over 30-year-old Center for Community, Service, and Justice (CCSJ) and Loyola’s York Road Initiative are integrating to deepen the partnerships between Loyola’s academic offerings and the needs and assets of the local community. CCSJ's work is focused on connecting campus and community through community engagement and development, community service and immersion experiences, and community-engaged learning and scholarship for a more just and equitable world.

To learn more about our work from year to year, take a look at our Annual Reports:

• 2023-2024
• 2022-2023
• 2019-2020
• 2018-2019
• 2016-2017

What is Community Engagement?

According to the Carnegie Foundation for Teaching and Learning, community engagement describes the 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.