Carnegie Leadership Classification
Leadership for Public Purpose Classification
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education® is the nation’s leading framework for categorizing diverse U.S. higher education institutions. On June 14, 2024, Creighton University was selected to be among an elite group of 25 higher education institutions in the United States, which were recognized with the inaugural Carnegie Foundation Leadership for Public Purpose Elective Classification.
Creighton is the only university or college from Nebraska and the only Jesuit member on the list. It is also one of just 10 private institutions to be among this first class. The classification signifies Creighton as 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.
About the Classification
In partnership with the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University and the American Council on Education, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching established a new Carnegie Elective Classification: Leadership for Public Purpose. It is currently one of only two Elective Classifications that higher education institutions in the United States can pursue (the other is Community Engagement; a third, Sustainability, is still in development).
According to the Carnegie Foundation, 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.
Creighton was one of just 13 higher education institutions, 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. 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 we serve through leadership for public purpose.
Of the select group of institutions that participated in the pilot Leadership for Public Purpose class, Creighton was one of only eight to complete the application process and receive individual feedback from the Carnegie Foundation. Creighton conducted a self-assessment process, which included evaluations of student learning; faculty and staff rewards and contributions; mission statements; and strategic plans. The University was also required to document 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
Reviewers also shared the importance of developing a concise, institutionalized definition of Leadership for Public Purpose, as it is foundational to a campus that is successfully committed. Reviewers asked the University to demonstrate accomplishments that reflected the following:
- Leadership is clearly emphasized as a priority
- Leadership is defined in institutional strategic planning and branding initiatives
- Consistent leadership programming definitions are present within co-curricular and curricular structures
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 wrote.
Successfully achieving the Leadership for Public Purpose Classification helps elevate Creighton as a national leader in leadership education and development. It also serves as a strategic differentiator among regional, national and Jesuit universities.
Campuses that are committed to leadership for public purpose enhance the learning, teaching and research missions of their institutions. They accomplish this by developing leadership abilities in all their 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 broader society.
Creighton will hold the designation as a Leadership for Public Purpose institution through 2030. The University will then be able to reapply for continued inclusion and recognition.
