The Charlottesville Institute for University-Community Engagement

The Charlottesville Institute is a non-profit organization founded in January 2012 with the mission of harnessing the tremendous intellectual resources of the University of Virginia for the betterment of the Charlottesville community.

The University of Virginia has a strong commitment to public service and there are numerous programs on Grounds that work to promote and coordinate civic engagement by UVa students and faculty. The Charlottesville Institute, as an independent entity based in the Charlottesville community but with strong ties to the University community, is unique in that it was not formed to ask “How can we encourage the University community to become more engaged in public service?,” but rather, “How can we encourage the University community to invest more of its public service resources in the University's own backyard? And how do we as a region best position ourselves to make that happen?"

By fostering innovation and inviting collaboration by UVa students and faculty in the arena of civic engagement and public policy, The Charlottesville Institute will strengthen our community's ability to address a wide variety of critical issues - from generational poverty to struggling schools to environmental challenges and beyond. UVa students and faculty will have more opportunities to apply what they're learning and teaching in the classroom to local, real-world situations, thus deepening and enriching their academic experience while helping to bring about positive social change throughout the Charlottesville region. Effective strategies and solutions that emerge from the work of the Institute can then be replicated in other communities across the state and across the country.