Community Engagement and Empowerment Council

The purpose of the Community Engagement and Empowerment Council is to foster a greater culture of social responsibility and inclusive excellence through education, training, service, and the advancement of intercultural appreciation between UAB and its surrounding areas. Together, we seek to improve the health of our communities through collaboration and support of ongoing community building operations, facilitating shared resources, identifying and bolstering best practices, and the integration of scholarship to raise awareness and substantiate strategic action. We aim to accomplish this goal by:

• Serving as an advisory board, campus-community think tank, and point of access to UAB for the citizens of Birmingham (and beyond) to coordinate and streamline engagement and outreach for historically underserved and marginalized communities.
• Encouraging informed participation by providing reliable and relevant information to establish trusted dialogue, find common ground, and empower activity.
• Enhancing efforts to achieve consistency, follow-through, and impact among diversity, equity and inclusion-based initiatives throughout UAB and its surrounding communities.
• Strengthening a culture of support for community engagement and outreach practices, integrating this work with institutional initiatives, and communicating the progress of these efforts across UAB and its surrounding communities.
• Increasing inclusiveness and accessibility by inviting diverse perspectives and experiences to inform and advise the work of communities and stakeholders.
• Identifying and facilitating practices and structures to expand mutually beneficial relationships with community partners across the city and state.
• Developing robust connections between research, community building, and student learning and student success measures.
• Assess community engagement and outreach activities; and use results to drive future decisions.
• Communicate regularly and effectively about engagement and outreach.