Community engagement and leadership have been a focus of Alvernia University since its founding Bernardine Franciscan Sisters arrived in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. The mission continues with each generation of graduates who perform more than 30,000 hours of service each year, engaging with the local community and beyond through a wide variety of curricular and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities.
 

Community engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.
 

The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.