Merrimack College is a midsized Catholic Augustinian College pursuing its historical service-based commitments while shifting priorities toward research. With limited time and resources, these two aims can create tension at institutional and faculty levels. This single institutional case study shares the work of faculty and College leadership to affirm and institutionalize community engagement (CE) through community-engaged research and the development of a Food Justice Research & Action Cluster (FJRAC), connecting community priorities for food justice with faculty expertise. Based on the literature on institutional change and assessment (Eckel, Hill, and Green's Typology of Institutional Change, 2001; Holland's Levels of Commitment to Community Engagement, 2005), this paper frames the stages and timeline that led to the formation of the FJRAC. We advance a Transdisciplinary Ecosystem Model for community-engaged research to analyze the depth and pervasiveness of the institutionalization of CE and explore how colleges can reinvigorate and deepen institutional change. Results of the FJRAC include student experiences (e.g., curriculum development, food security research); community opportunities (e.g., food sources, data analysis); and research projects (e.g., external funding applications). Lessons learned highlight the importance of supporting efforts that align with values, supporting faculty teams, navigating conflict around institution/faculty tension, communicating commitment, keeping timelines flexible, demonstrating value propositions to stakeholders, and balancing conflicting goals.