Collaborative Center

The Collaborative Center for Community Engagement is dedicated to supporting campus-community partnerships to advance the public good in our New Brunswick and Piscataway communities, throughout the state of New Jersey, and beyond.

Engaging Communities, Connecting Students

Rutgers New Brunswick defines community engagement as "the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger community for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity."

Collaborative Center programs connect more than 400 students each year to community partners in New Brunswick and beyond through in-depth placements and projects involving policy research, access to education, health, language, and the arts, to name a few.

The Collaborative Center offers a variety of ways for the Rutgers community (staff, faculty, students, and student organizations) and the general public to engage in the surrounding community. Volunteers have the opportunity to assist non-profit organizations and government agencies in food distribution, community clean-ups, among other opportunities. If you have a program or group interested in schedule an opportunity to volunteer and engage with the community or would like to explore doing so, you can email civic@odi.rutgers.edu and we can begin the process.

Learn more about Collaborative Center Programs

Get Involved

Learn about the creative ways the Collaborative Center brings together community partners, government leaders, education, health, and arts professionals, youth and families, to improve community life within a social change orientation.

Advancing Community Development

The Advancing Community Development (ACD) Program is a one-semester, community-based learning program administered by Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement in partnership with Johnson & Johnson.

Rutgers Bonner Leaders

Bonner leaders engage deeply within the New Brunswick community as they learn to serve within an orientation to social change.

Civic Voices

Civic Voices is a community-based audio project developed by George Street Playhouse and Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement.

Community Walking Tours

Rutgers Collaborative Center’s Community Tours are an informative and fun way to familiarize the Rutgers Community with its surrounding city neighborhoods.

Discover Collaborative Center Programs

Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)

In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too.