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Carnegie Leadership Classification

Carnegie Foundation Leadership for Public Purpose Classification

Overview

On June 14, 2024, Creighton University was selected to be among the elite, short list of just 25 higher education institutions nationwide recognized with the inaugural Carnegie Foundation Leadership for Public Purpose Elective Classification.

As the only university or college from Nebraska, the only Jesuit member, and one of just 10 private institutions to be among this first class, Creighton is recognized among the top is recognized among the top 1% of nearly 4,000 Carnegie-recognized campuses whose teaching, research, and service is aligned with developing leadership skills in pursuit of a more just world.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the nation’s leading framework for categorizing diverse U.S. higher education institutions. Inclusion as an award recipient required an independent and rigorous assessment of Creighton’s extraordinary commitment to, investment in, and accomplishment at addressing pressing issues of the societies they serve through leadership for public purpose. 

There are currently only two Elective Classifications that higher education institutions in the United States can pursue: Community Engagement and Leadership for Public Purpose. Creighton was one of just 13 institutions nationally, and the only Jesuit and Catholic university, to be invited to participate in the pilot Leadership for Public Purpose class, which launched in March 2021.  

Creighton will hold the designation as a Leadership for Public Purpose institution through 2030 at which point the University will be able to reapply for continued inclusion and recognition. 

Since 1878, Creighton University’s mission has been rooted in forming leaders who are compassionate and curious. Through excellence in health sciences education, undergraduate research, and a dynamic network of campuses in Omaha, Phoenix, and the Dominican Republic, as well as our commitment to Jesuit values, this designation reaffirms what it means to be uniquely Creighton.
— Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, Creighton President

Creighton was one of only 13 higher education institutions nationally, and the only Jesuit university, to be invited to participate in the pilot application when it launched on March 1, 2021, and one of only eight to complete the application process and receive individual feedback from the Carnegie Foundation.

Creighton conducted a self-assessment process, documenting how it enhances the learning, teaching and research mission by:

  • Developing leadership abilities in all institutional stakeholders
  • Contributing to the public scholarly understanding of leadership
  • Preparing students for lives of leadership for public purpose

The reviewers praised Creighton’s participation in the pilot program and the University’s commitment to its Jesuit mission in developing leaders.

“Throughout the application, it is evident that there is a strong commitment to the Jesuit framework and the conceptual approach to leadership as a holistic experience framed within it,” the reviewers write.

Reviewers also shared the importance of developing a concise, institutionalized definition of Leadership for Public Purpose, as it is foundational to a successfully committed campus. Reviewers asked the University to demonstrate accomplishment in three areas:

  • Leadership is clearly emphasized as a University priority.
  • Leadership is defined in institutional strategic planning and branding initiatives.
  • Consistent definitions of leadership programming are present within co-curricular and curricular structures.

What is this new classification?

  • The Carnegie Project is a partnership with the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. The Doerr Institute is committed to improvements in leadership education and development and has led to the establishment of a new Carnegie Elective Classification: Leadership for Public Purpose. Creighton was one of a select group of colleges and universities asked to participate in the pilot application process, for which the University completed a campus-wide self-study and submitted documents in December 2021. When the formal application process opened on March 27, 2022, Creighton confirmed its intent to participate.

What is leadership for public purpose?

  • According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, leadership for public purpose transcends functional or instrumental leadership (i.e., personal career or political gain, or narrow business or organization outcomes), in pursuit of collective public goods such as justice, equity, diversity and liberty. It is manifested in all realms of social life – private business, public and nonprofit institutions, neighborhood and community life, professional associations, civil and government institutions, religious institutions, and more.

What is required to achieve this classification?

  • Carnegie Foundation Elective Classifications require institutions to undergo a rigorous self-study process from which they provide evidence of their institutional indicators including: assessment of student learning; curricular and co-curricular offerings; faculty and staff rewards and contributions; mission statements; and strategic plans, etc. Institutions that provide evidence of an extraordinary institutional commitment receive the Carnegie Foundation’s endorsement as a Classified Institution.

Why is Creighton participating in this process?

  • Successfully achieving the Leadership for Public Purpose Classification will elevate Creighton as a national leader in leadership education and development. Creighton was among only 13 higher education institutions nationally, and the only Jesuit university, to be invited to participate in the pilot application process in 2021, and one of only eight to complete the application process.

Who is involved at the University?

  • With support from Provost Mardell Wilson, EdD, and President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, the University formed a Leadership for Public Purpose Classification Committee in 2021 to begin the pilot process. When the formal application process opened on March 27, 2022, Creighton confirmed its intent to participate.

What do we hope to achieve through this process?

  • This designation will position Creighton’s commitment to Leadership for Public Purpose as a strategic differentiator among regional, national and Jesuit universities.  In addition to the Carnegie designation, this process allows Creighton to collectively define leadership within curricular, co-curricular and professional development. This alignment not only unites us in our definition of leadership, it also unites us in our mission to develop leaders who embrace Jesuit/Ignatian leadership values and practices.

What does this mean at a university setting?

  • Campuses that are committed to leadership for public purpose enhance the learning, teaching and research mission of their institutions by developing leadership abilities in all institutional stakeholders; contributing to the scholarly understanding of leadership as a public good and the sociopolitical contexts, systems, and practices within which all leadership resides; and preparing students for lives of leadership for public purpose in their careers, communities and the broader society.

Planning Team

  • Jennifer Moss Breen Kuzelka, PhD, associate professor, Interdisciplinary Leadership EdD Program, College of Professional and Continuing Education
  • Steve Titus, JD, PhD, vice president and executive coaching practice leader, Academic Search
  • Deb Ford, PhD, interim associate dean, College of Professional and Continuing Education, associate professor, Interdisciplinary Leadership EdD Program
  • Venkata Giri Andukuri, MD, MPH, associate professor, School of Medicine
  • Lydia Holtz, assistant director, College of Professional and Continuing Education
  • Monica Chapeau, executive assistant, College of Professional and Continuing Education

 

Omaha Campus Team

  • Tim Durham, BS, DDS, MPA, senior associate/vice dean, professor, School of Dentistry
  • Craig Dallon, JD, professor, School of Law
  • Ron Fussell, EdD, associate chair, Education Department; associate professor, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Julia Shin EdD, MS, OTR/L, CKTP, assistant professor, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions
  • Rick Davis, director of internal communications, University Communications and Marketing
  • Andy Kammerer, senior director of corporate and foundation relations, University Relations
  • Nancy Schrage, senior human resource generalist, Human Resources
  • Katie Kelsey, EdD, senior director of donor relations and annual giving, University Relations
  • Eric Bredahl, PhD, associate professor, Department of Exercise Sciences and Pre-Health Professions
  • Joan Eckerson, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Exercise Sciences and Pre-Health Professions
  • Jeremy Fisher, MBA, PHR, senior director, John P. Fahey Career Center
  • Julie Olson, MA, senior learning and development specialist, Human Resources
  • Shelly Luger, DNP, RN, associate professor, Nursing Administration and Leadership College of Nursing

 

Phoenix Campus Team

  • Erica Brown, executive director, Arizona Health Education Alliance
  • Jim Lynskey, PT, PhD, associate professor, program chair – Phoenix, Department of Physical Therapy, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions

 

Graduate Assistants

  • Tara Kaufmann, Masters of Educational Leadership Program, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Katherine McGuire, MD Program, School of Medicine
  • Anna Puck, Occupational Therapy Program, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions
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