Center for Community Engagement

Community engagement and service learning have been central to Samuel Merritt University's mission for more than a century. The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) brings together students, faculty, staff, and community partners to improve community health through education, service, research, and collaboration.

The CCE is also home to SMU’s Ethnic Health Institute .

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Create Healthier Communities

The Center for Community Engagement (CCE), which also houses the Ethnic Health Institute, connects Samuel Merritt University with communities across Northern California through educational opportunities, community health programs, and workforce development initiatives. We integrate community engagement into curricular and co-curricular experiences for students, staff, and faculty while working with community partners to provide health services, address gaps in care, and help build a robust and compassionate future healthcare workforce.

Our community health programming is centered in three primary areas:

Heart Health & Hypertension
Human Trafficking Prevention & Response
Perinatal Equity

Across each area, we work alongside community partners to respond to locally identified needs while creating meaningful opportunities for members of the SMU community to learn, serve, and put their training into practice.

Engagement in Action

Explore how the Center for Community Engagement and the Ethnic Health Institute are making an impact in the region.

Transforming Care Through Community: Five Years of Impact (flipbook)

Upcoming Engagement Opportunities

Upcoming community engagement opportunities are shared with the campus community via email every two weeks. Be sure to check your SMU email regularly for upcoming volunteer, service, and community-based learning opportunities.

Email aemmarene@samuelmerritt.edu with any questions.

A snapshot of the types of community engagement programs we offer:

Field trips, simulation labs, and events for underrepresented students interested in health careers
Free health services and health education in low-income communities
Clinical placements that support the medically underserved
Student volunteers at free clinics and vaccine sites
Lectures and talks by our expert faculty and leaders
And much more

Our Mission

The Center fosters a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to community engagement that integrates community-centered research, teaching, and learning into all aspects of University life. The CCE aims to be a steadfast partner in creating healthier communities. This is accomplished by fostering holistic and sustained relationships with community partners and educating a future healthcare workforce that is prepared and committed to addressing health inequities and community needs.

The CCE builds on SMU’s extensive legacy of service to the community and reaffirms the University as part of the solution to the community’s most pressing needs by engaging students, staff, faculty, and alumni in this effort.