Greetings,

We are pleased to present the 2025-2026 edition of the Michigan State University Community-Engaged Learning Index. This publication celebrates the many ways Spartans learn with and alongside communities—applying knowledge, building reciprocal partnerships, mobilizing collective action, and preparing to lead lives of purpose, service, and impact.

For the third consecutive year, MSU was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 1 public university in the nation for service-learning, rising to No. 6 overall among all institutions. At MSU, this work is known as community-engaged learning, and it reflects our enduring commitment to our land-grant mission by connecting academic learning with the needs, strengths, and aspirations of communities.

The stories in this year's Index demonstrate the extraordinary reach of community-engaged learning across the university. Students are strengthening food systems, advancing rural health care, supporting nonprofit organizations, applying data science to community challenges, engaging in the arts as a vehicle for empathy and dialogue, promoting public and animal health, serving survivors of violence, and partnering with communities locally and around the world. They are also organizing thousands of their peers through fraternity and sorority life, philanthropy, volunteerism, and civic engagement, demonstrating how student leadership can mobilize communities for meaningful social change. Across every college and discipline, students are developing the knowledge, skills, and civic mindset needed to make lasting contributions throughout their careers and lives.

This year also highlights the continued growth of community engagement at MSU. Thousands of students participated in volunteer service, clinical placements, community-engaged courses, philanthropy, and civic engagement initiatives. Faculty expanded innovative community-engaged teaching practices, graduate students advanced engaged scholarship, and community partners continued to serve as valued co-educators whose expertise enriches student learning while strengthening communities. Together, these efforts demonstrate that community engagement is not a single experience, but a defining element of the Spartan educational journey.

As you explore this year's Index, we hope you are inspired by the collective impact of these partnerships. Together, they demonstrate that when universities and communities learn from one another, we prepare students not only for successful careers, but also for thoughtful leadership, active citizenship, and lives dedicated to the public good. We are deeply grateful to the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners whose dedication makes this work possible.

Sincerely,