On December 18, 2008, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching announced Wayne State University as a successful applicant for its elective classification for Community Engagement. Community Engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. This voluntary classification affirms that community engagement is an integral component of Wayne State's institutional culture through outreach and partnerships and curricular engagement.

Outreach focuses on the use of institutional resources for benefits to both campus and community, while partnerships focus on collaborative interactions with community and related scholarship for the mutually beneficial exchange, exploration, and application of knowledge, information and resources, including research, capacity-building and economic development.

Curricular Engagement describes activities where teaching, learning and scholarship engage faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Their interactions address community-identified needs, deepen students' civic and academic learning, enhance community well-being and enrich the scholarship of the institution.

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