About Us

Public outreach and community engagement are intrinsic to the University of Colorado Boulder and have been since the university’s founding in 1876.  

In November 2025, Chancellor Justin Schwartz established Outreach and Community Engagement (OCE) as a strategic hub to coordinate and support campus engagement with external communities. OCE brings together expertise in public and community-engaged scholarship, strategic partnerships and public policy, Native American affairs, and local government and community relations.  

OCE coordinates outreach and community engagement activities based on shared campus and community principles and centering data-informed outreach, civically engaged students and CU Boulder’s mission as Colorado’s flagship public research university.   Our success depends on strong relationships with partners on and off campus.

CU Boulder faculty, staff and students may look to OCE for the following: 
  • Knowledge about
    • campus-level priorities for outreach and community engagement, as well as related principles and policies
    • public outreach and community engagement activities from across campus
    • available campus resources
    • Expertise in best practices, assessment, communications and partnership development  
  • Funding opportunities  
  • Convening and connecting CU Boulder’s engaged scholars and outreach and engagement professionals 
  • Maintaining a campus inventory of public outreach and community engagement efforts 
  • Coordination with CU System Outreach and Engagement and Government Relations 

 

Our Staff