Campus Community / Society / Justice and Law

Sundborg Center for Community Engagement at Seattle University Marks 20-year Milestone Event on March 14

March 6, 2024

Event will highlight community partnership building and bolster learning for K-12 through university students.

The Sundborg Center for Community Engagement (CCE) will host its 20th Anniversary Celebration at Seattle University’s Campion Ballroom on Thursday, March 14, 4:30-7pm; this event is already near maximum capacity. The community-focused celebration will highlight 20 years of facilitating
transformative learning experiences for thousands of Seattle University students and local young scholars. Full of gratitude, CCE’s event will feature community partners, student & faculty speakers, program participants and the premiere of an SU student-produced documentary film about CCE’s journey with some of its partners.

“As we approach our 20th anniversary, we celebrate our collective successes and prepare for the work yet to come,” says CCE Executive Director Kent Koth. “We will continue to focus on what we do best—focus on the community that has made CCE what it is today.”

CCE has fostered and sustained more than 100 partnerships between campus and community throughout Central Seattle and did so during a period of rapid change for both the university and the city. Its roots included creating student leadership programs and centralized Community Engaged Learning (CEL) courses, and has grown into a bustling, dynamic and thriving launchpad that connects campus and surrounding neighborhoods through long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.

From the Seattle University Youth Initiative (SUYI) launch in 2011 to founding the nationwide Place-Based Justice Network (PBJN), CCE is home to the largest community engagement effort in university history and is a national example of how educational justice and community partnerships are done well.

“For two decades, the Sundborg Center has been at the forefront of bridging town and gown,” says Chris Nayve, Associate Vice President for Community Engagement and Anchor Initiatives at the University of San Diego.

For media inquiries and specific media access to the event on March 14, contact Robin Lesh at rlesh@seattleu.edu or 206-220-8570.

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About The Sundborg Center for Community Engagement

The Sundborg Center for Community Engagement (CCE) connects Seattle University campus and surrounding community through programs and partnerships that align with Seattle U’s values and strategic goals. CCE strives to lead as an anti-racist organization working toward a 2030 place-based vision that leverages the university’s resources to advance justice, remove institutional barriers and educate changemakers.