Partnership builds network for community engagement

Posted by University of San Diego on July 14, 2026

Substantive community engagement is part of the University of San Diego identity. As a Laudato Si’ university, USD programs are engrained with the idea to “care for our common home.” Its mission, vision and values repeatedly return to a commitment to take the knowledge and resources of our campus beyond its grounds to help the communities and world around us.

And now, a new partnership taps into that long-held ethos.

This year, University o f San Diego’s Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action became the new home of LEAD California, a statewide organization that unites higher education institutions in the pursuit of advancing impactful community engagement.

“It serves as a portal of understanding, resources that are archived over a series of time,” Christopher Nayve, associate vice president for community engagement and anchor initiatives, said of LEAD. “Because then new folks can access that information. So I think that is a pretty important function where LEAD is essentially the continuity, the common thread, onboarding new generations of leaders.”

LEAD was founded in 1988 as California Campus Compact with the goal of getting students more engaged with a service mentality – not only through curriculum, but also through research and experiential learning opportunities.

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