How do you define it?

Interaction between peoples? I have no idea. Just sounds like an overly fancy term that the common person would not understand.

• Main Entry: civ·ic
• Pronunciation: \ˈsi-vik\
• Function: adjective
• Etymology: Latin civicus, from civis citizen — more at city
• Date: circa 1656

: of or relating to a citizen, a city, citizenship, or community affairs <civic duty> <civic pride>

and...

• Main Entry: en·gage
• Pronunciation: \in-ˈgāj, en-\
• Function: verb
• Inflected Form(s): en·gaged; en·gag·ing
• Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French engager, from en- + gage pledge, gage
• Date: 15th century

transitive verb 1 : to offer (as one's word) as security for a debt or cause
2 a obsolete : to entangle or entrap in or as if in a snare or bog b : to attract and hold by influence or power c : to interlock with : mesh; also : to cause (mechanical parts) to mesh <engage the clutch>
3 : to bind (as oneself) to do something; especially : to bind by a pledge to marry
4 a : to provide occupation for : involve <engage him in a new project> b : to arrange to obtain the use or services of : hire <engage a lawyer>
5 a : to hold the attention of : engross <her work engages her completely> b : to induce to participate <engaged the shy boy in conversation>
6 a : to enter into contest or battle with <engage the enemy> b : to bring together or interlock (weapons)
7 : to deal with especially at length

(both from Merriam-Webster online)

It's unlikely that Western is looking for a contest or battle, but every other definition would probably work for this combination of words/intent.  I would say that it's likely Western intends each of the other 'definitions' in one way or another.

I recognize it's a little snarky, but 'definitions' generally apply to single words, unless the group of words equates to an idiom, or 'turn of phrase'. I also have to ask, did you even try looking up the definitions?

You're trying to get people to discuss what service projects they're involved in or what they think they owe the university in this regard rather than an actual discussion of the definition, right? I took the question of "how do you define civic engagement" in the same way as if someone asked me how I would define freedom/what freedom means to me.

The reason I asked this question was to prompt discussion about the meaning of "civic engagement." To see if we think Western is living up to its stated mission. So yes, bubbles you are right.

The other point of my question was specifically about word choice. If the University or Association Students (AS) were to create a program/office specifically dedicated to "promoting effective citizenship and civic engagement," that used the term in the title would you understand what they did? Would you prefer to the name of the program/office tied to citizenship or civic engagement?

What comes to mind when you hear civic engagement? If there was a Civic Engagement Office would you go to it or seek it out for resources?

That is what I was trying to get a response to.

thanks

When I provided the definition, I did so with intent, not simply to be snarky.

That intent was to point out that it is unnecessary to look beyond the dictionary definitions in order to deduce the intent behind this choice of words.  I'll go more into this in a bit.

Mission statements should be brief, and should convey clear ideas.  Of all the items in the stated mission, civic engagement seems pretty clear.

Going simply by the definitions of 'civic' and 'engagement', both of which have clear non-arbitrary definitions, I can deduce that Western intends to establish and maintain a bond/relationship within the applicable communities in and around Western.  This easily translates to city, county, and state issues, as well as the sub-communities within western such as the AS groups, veterans, etc.  Any college/university and the community in which it is housed have a symbiotic relationship, this seems to be WWU's attempt to be clear that they understand this dynamic, and are making it part of their stated mission to continue to foster this idea.

Conceptually, there isn't much more to it than that.  Speaking practically though, it might mean dozens of different programs or efforts on the part of WWU to support this part of their mission.  If you read further into their objectives and actions, you'll see several places where they outline the overall ideas - such as "Build collaborative relationships with off-campus communities" (outlined in more detail http://www.wwu.edu/president/mission.shtml).

Asking this:

really has nothing to do with Western's stated fulfillment of civic engagement.  It is really asking for opinion on what people think of when they string those two words together.  You are trying to create an idiom, whether you realize it or not, where one not need exist.  'Civic engagement' as a term doesn't need further connotation, when the denotation of the individual words is perfectly sufficient.  Western makes this same mistake in their mission, but it is not with this particular arrangement of words.

It might sound a bit nitpicky, but this idea is very different than asking of Western is 'living up' to the standards which they've stated in their mission.

"Is Western fullfilling their stated mission with regards to 'civic engagement?" is not the same as "Is Western living up to an amalgam of our ideas of civic engagement?"

I'm not sure which one your going for, and it could be both.  It isn't really clear as you seem to be asking for both as if they are the same thing.

If you want my opinion, 'engaged excellence' is a much more ambiguous term, which is clearly a term that Western wants to coin.  It's also meaningless, subjective, and arbitrary, it just sounds good when selling WWU to parents (unless those parents take the time to actually dissect what it's supposed to mean).  Personally I think it has no place in the mission statement, since it's ambiguous language which affords no real accountability.

 snarky |ˈsnärkē|adjective ( snarkier, snarkiest) informal(of a person, words, or a mood) sharply critical; cutting; snide : the kid who makes snarky remarks in class.• cranky; irritable : Bobby's always a bit snarky before his nap.

-see also chad's post.

haha... you did come off a bit snarky chad.

To be fair, I did identify it as such, in an effort to show that it was intentional, and really, without any ill intent.

It wasn't cruel or sardonic, it was intended to further drive home my point, which was, essentially, that the definition of 'civic engagement' is logically inferred from the definitions of the words themselves.  I found it more than a little ironic that the OP was asking for a definition of the term (whether or not he was looking to see how other people defined it) without actually referencing or even inquire further within the context of definitions of the words in the phrase.

 It was snarky simply because I was pointing out what, at least to me, seems like an obvious necessary first step that wasn't taken.

Could be because the OP figured that anyone could look up the definitions onlne and that wasn't what she wanted?