Community Engagement

Two University of Rochester students reading a picture book to a young child in a children's classroom
Throughout its history, the University of Rochester has demonstrated a commitment to building connections and developing programs that foster a vibrant community and positively impact the city of Rochester, the Finger Lakes region, the state, the nation, and the world. Read further to see some of these commitments in action.

Committee on Community Engagement for Racial Justice

Local communities, particularly those living in poverty, face significant challenges due to decades of structural issues, leading to devastating consequences for individuals in homeless shelters, jails, city schools, and high-poverty neighborhoods.

CERJ identifies critical needs and determines ways that the University can share expertise, human capital, and resources, allocating these accordingly. The committee also ensures that the University of Rochester is a committed community partner focused on social justice, providing an important infrastructure to jointly develop creative and equitable solutions to mitigate the impact of decades of structural challenges on the most vulnerable groups in our broader community.

Center for Community Engagement

students pose for a photo next to the community garden at Wilson Magnet High School with Wilson and UR leadership

The Center for Community Engagement was created in 2005 to put University student community engagement programs under one umbrella. The center has grown from just two programs to the home of many of the University’s best-known projects, including Wilson Day, the oldest community service day among colleges in the country.

Mt. Hope Family Center

For over forty years, Mt. Hope Family Center psychologists, researchers, and clinicians have provided evidence-based intervention and prevention services to at-risk children and families in the Rochester area—while also training the next generation of clinicians and researchers.

Affiliated with the Department of Psychology at the University of Rochester, Mt. Hope Family Center focuses on treating children and helping parents develop the skills they need to understand child development, communicate more effectively, and resolve conflict in non-violent ways.

SMILEmobile

The Eastman Institute for Oral Health’s SMILEmobile is a self-contained traveling dental clinic that is wheelchair-accessible and designed to connect to hard-to-reach populations. Operating for over fifty years, SMILEmobiles provide dental treatment to individuals with developmental disabilities and other medically complex conditions, those living in poverty, and older adults.