This year’s winners are:

Asad Durrani, University of Houston-Downtown (Senior, majoring in Biology)

Leigh Anna Logsdon, Trinity University (Senior, majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
 
Bernadette Sepulveda, St. Mary’s University (Senior, majoring in Exercise & Sports Science)
 
Thanks to a $30,000 donation from Ability Pediatric Therapy CEO & President Pam Goble to Texas Campus Compact, The Ability Pediatric Therapy STEM Scholarship for Service Learning will be awarded to three students per year for each of the next three years, at $3,000 each, for a total of $27,000 in scholarship money for the three-year program.

According to Texas Campus Compact executive director Patricia Spencer Potyka, “this scholarship is a direct response to the predicament our nation and our state is experiencing with underrepresentation in STEM fields.” Potyka adds, “Ability’s generosity enables us to positively impact the education and future careers of these outstanding students, reinforcing the strong correlation that exists between STEM and workforce development in the state of Texas.”

More information on Texas Campus Compact, including the application process for the 2012-2013 academic year, is available at the organization’s official website, www.texascampuscompact.org.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Phil West, Orange Cone Agency
512.769.3838, phil.west {at} orangeconeagency(.)com

Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana Campus Compact is hosting a two-day summit for college and university administrators, faculty, staff, students, and their community partners to address engagement between campuses and communities. The Summit includes a luncheon discussion with national, state, and local leaders, an awards reception and ceremony, and interactive workshop tracks tailored to each constituent group. The gathering will take place in Indianapolis on March 31st – April 1st, 2011, at the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites.The luncheon discussion will be moderated by Emmy Award winning journalist Kim Hood Jacobs and will feature Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers, National Campus Compact President Maureen Curley, and Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry.Other speakers for the event will include the Vice President for Accreditation Relations for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, Dr. Karen Solomon, and Dr. KerryAnn O’Meara, a community engagement researcher and scholar from the University of Maryland. The summit will feature faculty, staff, and student presentations highlighting both community engagement research and applied practices, a track specifically designed for academic deans and department chairs focused on community engagement in the promotion and tenure process, and a student track which will include workshops on service leadership and a session devoted to collaboration.“The Indiana Campus Compact Service Engagement Summit will provide a platform for dialogue and collaboration among leaders in the field of community engagement as well as an opportunity to recognize outstanding contributions to Indiana’s communities.” Indiana Campus Compact Executive Director Maggie Stevens said. “The power of the Summit will be the opportunity for individuals from these diverse member institutions to come together to learn from one another, connect with their peers, and strengthen their impact on our communities.”Indiana Campus Compact is a network of 42 college campuses that supports higher education’s efforts to develop students into well-informed, engaged citizens. Providing programs, services, and resources, Indiana Campus Compact serves as a catalyst for campuses and communities to improve people’s lives through service-learning and civic engagementinitiatives. IndianaCampusCompact’smembershipincludespublic,private, two- and four-year institutions. As the only state-wide higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Indiana Campus Compact promotes public and community service which develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum. For more information, visit www.indianacampuscompact.org.

Washington, DC – Recognizing that talent development is fundamental to the success of cities, CEOs for Cities is launching a $1 million prize competition to encourage college attainment in America’s major metros.

The national non-profit network of urban leaders committed to creating next generation cities will award the prize to the metropolitan area that exhibits the greatest increase in the number of post secondary degrees granted per capita over a four-year period.  The competition is part of CEOs for Cities’ effort to encourage cities to realize their “Talent Dividend” and improve their economic potential by increasing their college attainment rate by one percentage point.

“Research shows that 58 percent of any city’s success, as measured by per capita income, can be explained by the percentage of college graduates in its population,” explained Carol Coletta, president and CEO of CEOs for Cities.  “There are huge financial gains to a city that can be achieved through small improvements in educational attainment alone.”

Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor of SUNY and Chair of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities said, “Thanks to CEOs for Cities, we now know that for every one percentage point increase in our college graduation rate, New Yorkers will earn an additional $17.5 billion each year.  This is an exorbitant amount of income, and it has the capacity to drive our economy to new heights and simultaneously address a critical need for improved student success. The Talent Dividend Competition is an added incentive for cities across the country to renew their focus on college attainment and degree completion.”

Registration for the prize opens today and will close on May 1, 2011.  The $1 million prize will be used to launch a national promotional campaign for the winning city.

Don Borut, President of the National League of Cities, welcomed this innovative approach to improving educational attainment in urban America. “Our cities are working hard to meet the rising demand for more and better education, but we are facing great fiscal constraints,” he said. “The Talent Dividend provides proof of the intrinsic economic value of college attainment for cities, and the prize encourages partnership across sectors, so that entire communities collaborate to achieve our economic potential.”

“We see this competition as a grassroots opportunity to spread the message that attaining a higher education degree has become an economic imperative in the United States,” said Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, one of the sponsors of the prize.

“In the increasingly competitive global economy, it is vital that as many Americans as possible attain college degrees so they can be prepared to contribute to our nation’s future,” said American Council on Education President Molly Corbett Broad. “That is why we are very pleased to partner with CEOs for Cities over the next few years on this important and innovative effort to develop talent in our metropolitan areas.”

The Talent Dividend Prize competition is supported by the Kresge Foundation and Lumina Foundation for Education.  “We believe that this competition will motivate local leaders to think creatively about reaching out to both traditional and non-traditional students to improve college achievement,” said William Moses, Program Director for Education at the Kresge Foundation.  “Four years from now, when the prize is awarded, we hope to not only have improved life outcomes and fostered a workforce that is educated to compete, but to have secured evidence of what really works to create a pathway to college completion.”

CEOs for Cities and its partners will host a launch event for cities that register for the Talent Dividend Prize competition on May 10, 2011 in Chicago, and the winner will be announced in September 2014.

The Talent Dividend Prize competition is open to all U.S. cities with a metropolitan population of 500,000, or the largest metropolitan area in a state based on 2009 American Community Survey data.  Each metropolitan area is required to register and submit annual documentation of its educational attainment efforts in order to be considered for the prize.

Eligible cities may register at www.TalentDividendPrize.org.  Urban leaders from any sector are eligible to register; however, each city is required to appoint a key liaison and a 6-8 member advisory panel composed of leaders from multiple sectors.

The prize competition is an outgrowth of City Dividends, CEOs for Cities research that calculated the monetary value to cities and the nation of increasing college attainment rates by one percentage point (Talent Dividend); reducing vehicle miles traveled by one mile per person per day (Green Dividend); and reducing poverty rates by one percentage point (Opportunity Dividend).

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CEOs for Cities is a national network of urban leaders dedicated to building and sustaining the next generation of great American cities.

The two new Board members are Mary E. Lyons, PhD, president of the University of San Diego, and Sally Mason, PhD, president of The University of Iowa. They join a distinguished group of leaders from across the country representing all segments of higher education as well as the philanthropic and business communities. The Board guides the organization in its mission of deepening higher education’s ability to improve community life and educate students for civic and social responsibility.

“We are thrilled to have these dedicated leaders join our Board,” notes Campus Compact president Maureen F. Curley. “Each has a strong background in leading organizations and in creating sustainable structures for strengthening communities. Moreover, each one holds a firm belief in community engagement and the power of student learning through civic engagement. Their positive accomplishments and experience bring inspiration and practical knowledge to the table.”  To continue reading, download the press release.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has selected 115 U.S. colleges and universities for its 2010 Community Engagement Classification. These institutions join the 196 institutions identified in the 2006 and 2008 selection process.

Colleges and universities with an institutional focus on community engagement were invited to apply for the classification, first offered in 2006 as part of an extensive restructuring of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Unlike the Foundation’s other classifications that rely on national data, this is an “elective” classification—institutions elected to participate by submitting required documentation describing the nature and extent of their engagement with the community, be it local or beyond. This approach enabled the Foundation to address elements of institutional mission and distinctiveness that are not represented in the national data on colleges and universities…

>> To read the full press release: Click Here

2010 Community Engagement Classification designees.
♦ – denotes active Campus Compact members

AR
♦Auburn University
AL
♦University of Arkansas at Little Rock
CA
♦Azusa Pacific University
♦California State University, Channel Islands
♦California State University, Dominguez Hills
♦California State University, Sacramento
♦University of Southern California
♦Whittier College
CT
♦Central Connecticut State University
♦Norwalk Community College
♦University of Connecticut
FL
♦Florida International University
♦Florida State University
♦Nova Southeastern University
♦University of North Florida
♦University of South Florida at St. Petersburg
GA
♦Berry College
Morehouse School of Medicine
♦North Georgia College & State University
♦University of Georgia
ID
♦University of Idaho
IL
♦Chicago School of Professional Psychology
♦Columbia College of Chicago
♦Western Illinois University
IN
♦Indiana University Bloomington
♦IUPU Fort Wayne
♦Purdue University North Central
♦Saint Mary’s College
♦Taylor University
♦University of Indianapolis
♦University of Notre Dame
IA
♦Buena Vista University
KS
♦Kansas State University
♦University of Kansas
LA
♦Loyola University New Orleans
♦Our Lady of the Lake College
ME
♦Unity College
♦University of Maine at Machias
MD
♦Loyola University Maryland
MA
♦Clark University
♦North Shore Community College
♦Suffolk University
MI
♦Calvin College
♦Hope College
♦University of Michigan-Flint
♦Western Michigan University
MN
♦Macalester College
♦St. Cloud State University
MS
♦Jackson State University
♦Millsaps College
Mississippi State University
♦University of Southern Mississippi
MO
♦Missouri State University – Springfield
♦Rockhurst University
♦University of Missouri – St. Louis
♦Westminster College
MT
♦Montana State University-Bozeman
NH
♦New England College
♦Plymouth State University
♦Southern New Hampshire University
NJ
Bergen Community College
♦Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
♦Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
NY
♦Adelphi University
♦Cornell University
♦Hobart and William Smith Colleges
♦Jefferson Community College
♦Skidmore College
♦St. John’s University-NY
♦Stony Brook University
♦SUNY-Oneonta
♦SUNY-Oswego
♦SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry
NC
♦Elizabeth City State University
♦Gardiner-Webb University
♦Wake Forest University
OH
♦Denison University
♦Hiram College
♦John Carroll University
♦Miami University, Hamilton
♦Miami University, Ohio
♦Oberlin College
OR
♦Oregon State University
PA
♦Bucknell University
♦Elizabethtown College
♦LaSalle University
♦Millersville University of PA
♦Muhlenberg College
♦Saint Joseph’s University
♦Temple University
♦West Chester University of PA
SC
♦Columbia College
TN
♦Belmont University
♦Lipscomb University
♦Tennessee State University
♦The University of Tennessee at Martin
TX
♦Blinn College
♦Collin County Community College District
♦Saint Mary’s University
♦Sam Houston State University
♦University of Texas at Arlington
♦University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College
University of Texas at El Paso
UT
♦Southern Utah University
♦University of Utah
♦Westminster College
VT
♦Saint Michael’s College
♦Southern Vermont College
VA
♦James Madison University
University of Richmond
WA
♦Heritage University
♦Seattle University
♦Western Washington University
WV
♦West Virginia University
WI
♦St. Norbert College

Thanks to a $30,000 donation from Ability Pediatric Therapy CEO Pam Goble to Texas Campus Compact, the Ability Pediatric Therapy STEM Scholarship for Service Learning will be awarded to three students per year for each of the next three years, at $3,000 each, for a total of $27,000 in scholarship money for the three-year program. According to Texas Campus Compact executive director Patricia Spencer Potyka. In keeping with the organization’s mission, scholarship winners will demonstrate a commitment to service learning.

“Texas Campus Compact is doing important work throughout Texas by encouraging service learning among college students and faculty, resulting in helping to Close the Gaps of educational inequity in our state,” said Goble of the donation. “We’re proud to be stepping forward to sponsor scholarships for students committed to Texas Campus Compact’s mission.”

“We’re thrilled that Ability Pediatric Therapy has come forward to sponsor these scholarships with its $30,000 gift,” said Potyka. “This is a groundbreaking scholarship program — the first of its kind in Texas — and Ability’s generosity has allowed us to move forward with this initiative to support service learning in Texas.”

Information on eligibility and the application process will be coming in early 2011, and the initial three scholarships will be awarded for the 2011-12 school year.

More information on Texas Campus Compact, which is part of National Campus Compact, a national network of more than 1300 presidents nationwide, who are committed to service learning organization and civic engagement, while developing citizen-stewards, is available at its official website, www.texascampuscompact.org.

SouthCoast Serves is pleased to introduce our  AmeriCorps Student Leaders in Service.  Funded by a $5000 grant through Massachusetts Campus Compact, five UMass Dartmouth students will work with five SouthCoast Serves partners on various community projects which will benefit the South Coast region from October 2010 until May 2011.   Each student has committed to serve 300 hours with their host sites and in exchange, as AmeriCorps members, they will each receive a $1,000 education award.

Matt Kennedy is a senior at UMass Dartmouth majoring in marketing.  He is working at United Neighbors of Fall River, a Community Connection Collaboration which is working to strengthen the community of Fall River.  Previously, Matt volunteered with the Dracut Baseball Association as an assistant coach and with a Thanksgiving basket drive.

Courtney Kurzweil will be serving as the assistant volunteer coordinator at the City of New Bedford. She is a senior who is majoring in political science and minoring in sociology. Courtney is a member of the Rotary Club and UMass Dartmouth’s Rotaract club.  After graduation, she plans to go to law school and continue to serve with Rotary.

Charles Nicholson will be serving at the Dartmouth YMCA.  Specifically, he will be assisting with the YMCA’s Sharing the Harvest program, which is a community farm where all the produce is donated to local food pantries.  Charles is a senior and a marketing major and is involved with intramural athletics on campus.  He enjoys playing basketball and football.

Katie Trujillo is a junior who is majoring in human resources and marketing; she will be working at the United Way of Greater New Bedford.  Katie’s main responsibilities will be maintaining and updating the United Way’s volunteer database: www.volunteersolutions.org.  Katie has volunteered at Smiles Mentoring and with the Special Olympics.

Samantha Wonson is serving at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Bedford.  She will be assisting with managing volunteers, especially America Reads tutors.  Samantha is a senior and a marketing major who is a peer mediator and a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team at UMass Dartmouth.  She has previously volunteered with Toys for Tots and the Girl Scouts of America.

According to Michelle Hantman, President of the United Way and a SouthCoast Serves founding partner:  “This is a great win/win, the community is getting significant support with Katie’s work and Katie is getting great experience. We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to a successful year.” Deirdre Healy, the Assistant Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at UMass Dartmouth added , “The 1500 hours that these students will be contributing to service in the South Coast region is the equivalent of more than $15,000 dollars worth of work.  And since many of the Student Leaders in Service are working to recruit additional volunteers, the value of their time goes up exponentially every time a new volunteer is recruited.”

SouthCoast Serves is a University of Massachusetts Dartmouth facilitated collaborative that fosters service and volunteerism to meet the needs of our community by leveraging resources, expertise and capacity to maximize impact.  For more information, please visit our website at www.south-coast-serves.org.

Campus Compact Draws Promising Connection Between Civic Engagement and College Access/Success

A new white paper from the non-profit organization Campus Compact provides compelling evidence that college students who participate in civic engagement and service-learning activities earn higher grade point averages and have a better chance of staying in college and earning degrees.

Boston, MA — A new white paper from Campus Compact provides compelling evidence that college students who participate in civic engagement and service-learning activities, earn higher grade point averages and are more likely to complete their college degree.

Further, “A Promising Connection: Increasing College Access and Success through Civic Engagement” finds that two- and four-year higher education institutions across the nation, as well as K-12 schools, are intentionally linking dimensions of civic engagement with learning to educate students for civic life. The result can be the strengthening of educational, economic, and social assets of colleges and communities alike.

The paper also reports that civic engagement involving K-12 students can strengthen the pipeline to colleges and universities⎯helping to address issues of college access and student success in college. These outcomes are especially true for first-generation college attendees, students of color, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The findings were presented recently at Campus Compact’s Presidents Leadership Summit 2010, hosted by Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. and Georgetown President John J. DeGioia−chair of the National Board of Campus Compact, along with Compact President Maureen F. Curley. Dr. DeGioia was joined by 100 college presidents from public, private, two- and four-year institutions across the spectrum of higher education and Campus Compact state directors from Hawaii to Maine, all of whom share his conviction that civic engagement and service-learning can play a significant role in increasing college access and success.

The meeting was convened by Campus Compact to respond to President Barack Obama’s challenge that, “By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” The United States currently ranks only 12th among the 36 countries in a College Board study of countries with the highest graduation rates, the highest of which is Canada with a graduation rate of 55.8%.

Dr. DeGioia explained that the President’s challenge means we must increase the percentage of Americans completing an Associates Degree or higher by 4.2% annually by 2020. “This will require a growth of over 8.2 million new degrees in this time frame. To do this we will need to ensure more students are on their way towards a degree, and that more are successful in completing studies necessary for a degree.”

“This is a distinctly American story,” he continued, one that connects democracy and educa-tion with the flourishing of each community. By connecting the livelihood of American commu-nities and colleges, the utilitarian drive to produce the most competitive workforce becomes an issue of civic responsibility, of giving back to the community and to our country…”

The Summit was funded through a seed grant from Lumina Foundation for Education and KnowHow2GO⎯the nation’s largest foundation dedicated exclusively to increasing students’ access to and success in postsecondary education. Lumina’s own goal is to increase the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by 2025.

Generous support was also received from Georgetown University, USA Funds, Jenzabar, Inc., Community College of Allegheny County, Montana Campus Compact, National Student Loan Program, Natixis Global Associates, and Widener University. The American Council on Education (A.C.E.) was also a partner.

To read and download “A Promising Connection: Increasing College Access and Success through Civic Engagement” or learn more of the proceedings of the Summit, visit Campus Compact’s website: www.compact.org.

Campus Compact is a national coalition of nearly 1,200 college and university presidents⎯ representing some 6 million students⎯who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only national education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Campus Compact promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Campus Compact President Maureen F. Curley, please contact Sue C. Kelman, Director of Communications: skelman {at} compact(.)org or 617-357-1881, x207. Photographs of the event are also available by request.

>>Read the Full Interview Here

*For more information visit: California Campus Compact

As head of the agency that oversees federal volunteer and service programs, Corvington is determined to expand opportunities for service to more Americans and targeting service toward solving pressing social issues. “If you want to be remembered for more than the size of your income or the square footage of your living space, seek to serve some greater good than your own,” he said.

Corvington presented UTSA President Ricardo Romo with the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Award in recognition of the institutions promotion of community and service-learning on campus. Nearly 20,000 students led and participated in service projects during the 2008-2009 academic year on a variety of issues from mentoring disadvantaged youth to feeding the hungry.

Earlier in the day, Corvington met with San Antonio Mayor, Julian Castro, held a roundtable discussion with a group of community leaders, and visited the McAuliffe Middle School where AmeriCorps members are working with the Diplomas Now program to increase graduation rates among at-risk students.

The full text of Corvington’s speech as prepared is available here. Following are excerpts:

“The big question before you today is not how can you use the degree you have earned at UTSA to achieve personal fame and fortune. The question is how can you use what you’ve learned in college to benefit your family, your community, your country, and your world. In short, how can you serve?”

“President Obama believes, as I do, that citizen service is essential to solving the big problems facing our nation – from poverty and high unemployment to the dropout crisis that is especially devastating in communities of color. Service cannot just be about counting the hours – it must be about raising test scores, lowering the dropout rate, eradicating poverty, moving people from the unemployment to the dignity of work. In short, service must be about making a real difference – the kind of difference that you are making right here at UTSA.”

“Young people like you throughout this country are making a difference. Right here in San Antonio, AmeriCorps VISTA members in a program called College for All Texans are working in this city’s public schools, helping to pave a smoother path to higher education for students who might otherwise never get that chance – students who hopefully will one day sit where you are sitting today.”

“Whether you pursue service as a career, a passion, or both, as you leave here today, there is a lot of work to do. We live in a time of extraordinary challenges. Too many of our brothers and sisters here in San Antonio and throughout this country are living in poverty. Too many are dropping out of school. Too many of our seniors are alone and neglected. Too many of our young people have been cut down by crime and guns and violence in our communities. We have the power to tackle these problems. But we need your help. Government cannot and should not do this work alone.”

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The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

>>Read the Full Press Release: Corporation for National and Community Service

Students from Anderson University, IPFW, Ivy Tech- Lafayette, IU-Bloomington, IU-Northwest, IU-South Bend, Ivy Tech-Central, Ivy Tech-Valparaiso, Saint Mary’s College, and USI will come together to:

The program will be led Indiana Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America), Rachel Rekowski and will feature guest speakers Franklin College Service-Learning Coordinator Doug Grant, The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention Program Director Michael Hurst, IUPUI Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies Dr. Larry Zimmerman, and Bread for the World Chair Dave Miner.

In describing the program for the week, Rekowski said “A coalition of college students from across the state of Indiana will come together for an intense and challenging week of in-depth learning.  Students will experience homelessness through a variety of avenues including living in a homeless shelter, visiting an archeological study site focused on homeless culture, and touring and serving at local non-profits that provide services to persons experiencing homelessness. We hope this experience will inspire students to be advocates for our homeless neighbors and become change makers in their communities.”

Indiana Campus Compact is a network of 42 college campuses that involves students, faculty and staff in service-learning and civic engagement in order to educate citizens, prepare tomorrow’s leaders, and contribute to the quality of life of America’s communities.  With support from its governing board comprised of the presidents and chancellors of its member campuses, ICC supports the integration of service-learning and civic engagement into campus culture by facilitating collaborations, sponsoring programs, sharing best practices and promoting awareness of higher education’s role in graduating well-informed, engaged citizens.  For more information, visit www.indianacampuscompact.org.

Dr. Worrall has enjoyed a distinguished career in higher education, serving most recently as the Dean of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity at Defiance College, and before that as the founding director of the highly regarded Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning at DePaul University.  At DePaul, Laurie was also a member of the founding team of the Msgr. John J. Egan Urban Center, and was the institutional liaison to the Illinois Campus Compact. Laurie earned an Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in higher education management; her dissertation topic was Discovering the Community Voice:  The Community Perspective of the Service-Learning Program at DePaul University.  Laurie also earned an M.S. in public service management at DePaul and B.A. in English at Northern Michigan University.  A native of Syracuse, Laurie will officially begin her work as Executive Director of the New York Campus Compact on June 1, 2010.

Upon the announcement of Worrall’s hiring, outgoing director Jim Heffernan stated: ”The New York Campus Compact is indeed fortunate to have the leadership, experience and dedication of Dr. Worrall as we approach our tenth anniversary.  As a seasoned administrator in community-based learning, and a respected voice in civic engagement and campus/community partnerships, Dr. Worrall is a true find.  We look forward to her arrival, and to NYCC’s continuing vitality.” These sentiments were echoed by NYCC Executive Committee co-chair and President of Ulster Community College Donald Katt, who stated: “New York Campus Compact is extremely fortunate to be able to appoint Dr. Laurie Worrall as its new Executive Director.  She possesses a passion for civic engagement and approaches her responsibilities in an entrepreneurial way.  While at DePaul University in Chicago, she grew a service learning program from 11 courses that placed 250 students to one with 200 courses placing more than 3000 students!  Her program became the largest of its kind in Illinois. She also served on the Executive Council of the Illinois Campus Compact for eight years and became their Executive Council Chair before leaving the state for a senior academic leadership position at Defiance College in Ohio.  I truly feel she possesses the experience, the zeal, and the commitment to take the New York Campus Compact to the next level.”

The New York Campus Compact is the largest of 35 state compacts in the country, comprised of 82 institutions across the state committed to student civic engagement and the fulfillment of the public purposes of higher education. Cornell University has hosted NYCC since its inception.  For more information on the New York Campus Compact, please refer to www.nycc.cornell.edu.

New York Campus Compact
95 Brown Road, Box 1006
Ithaca, NY 14850
tel:  607-255-2366
fax:  607-254-6397

Contact: Elizabeth Babcock
Talloires Network Coordinator
babcock {at} icicp(.)org
(p) 202-775-0290
(f) 202-355-9317

WASHINGTON, DC – The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation today announced the winners of the second annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship. The first place winner is PuentesUC (Bridges UC) at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. PuentesUC is an innovative model of collaboration between the university and municipal governments to further student learning and local development. “This prize brings great recognition to our university and its constant mission to unite academic work with the challenges of our country,” said Ignacio Irarrázaval, director of the Center of Public Politics UC, which oversees PuentesUC.

The MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship recognizes exceptional student civic engagement initiatives based in Talloires Network member universities around the world and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts. Sixty-six programs from 54 universities in 27 countries around the world were nominated.

Lawrence S. Bacow, President of Tufts University, serves as the Chair of the Talloires Network, an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education. “The MacJannet Prize embodies the ambitions and founding goals of the Talloires Network and will serve to raise awareness of the contributions universities can make to active citizenship,” said President Bacow.

The MacJannet Foundation, which so-sponsors the annual award, supports the Prize as an extension of the philanthropic work of its founders, international educators Donald and Charlotte MacJannet. The foundation’s president, Tony Cook said “The MacJannet Prize is an ideal way to spotlight the most worthy and productive student service-learning projects in countries around the world. We salute the winners for their unselfish volunteer efforts and their positive contributions to their societies and the global community.”

Winning programs were selected by an international committee representing the MacJannet Foundation, the Talloires Network, and our partners. Members included: Tony Cook (President, MacJannet Foundation); Tony Kleitz (MacJannet Foundation Trustee); Rob Hollister (Dean, Tisch College, Tufts University); Goolam Mohamedbhai (Secretary General, Association of African Universities); Brenda Gourley (Former Vice-Chancellor, the Open University); María Nieves Tapia (Director, Latin American Center for Service-Learning); and Yazmín Cruz (Project Officer, Global University Network for Innovation).

This year’s first place winner, PuentesUC, was launched in 2002 to set up a link between the university and neighboring municipalities. A university-wide program with strong institutional support, its general objective is to provide real-life learning opportunities for its students and to contribute to local community development, generating a permanent link between the university and local government. Participants are students, professors, town officers, and authorities in continuous learning and development. PuentesUC (Bridges UC) refers to a bridge that links academia with city authorities and workers. Since its creation, the program has developed over 1,000 projects in 14 municipalities, with the participation of 6,500 students and 200 professors of all faculties. These projects entail coursework, professional practices, thesis or dissertations, volunteerism, extension, and research. The $5,000 prize will be used to further the program’s inspiring work.

The second place winners are the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program at University of Mines and Technology in Ghana and Community Awareness Initiatives Responsibly-Directed by Engineers (CAIRDE) at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Both second-prize winners will receive $2,500.

The HIV/AIDS Prevention Program at the University of Mines and Technology began with an FM station called Dynamite FM established in 1998. The station is used to educate the local community on environmental issues, HIV/AIDS, public hygiene, and other issues. The program then expanded to field work where competitively-selected and trained students and staff visit mining communities to administer questionnaires on HIV/AIDS prevention; put on various seminar discussions, public fora, video presentations and plays to educate the local population on HIV/AIDS prevention; and to distribute condoms in the local mining camps. Since the program’s inception, the HIV infection rate in Tarkwa, Ghana has dropped from over 4% to 2.5%.

Community Awareness Initiatives Responsibly-Directed by Engineers at NUI Galway is a service-learning program where all third-year Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering students apply academic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs. Established in 2003 by Professor Abhay Pandit, it became an embedded part of the undergraduate Mechanical, Biomedical, and Electrical Engineering programs as part of a required module that previously had been solely lecture-based. The emphasis is on interacting directly with intended beneficiaries of projects. It remains the only service learning engineering program in Ireland.

The MacJannet Foundation and the Talloires Network also awarded third-place prizes, worth $1,000, to five additional outstanding programs from four continents:

The geographic diversity of the winning programs demonstrates the global scope of the movement to incorporate civic engagement within higher education. In all regions of the world, higher education institutions are responding to pressing social issues, and students in particular are championing the idea of global citizenship. The MacJannet Prize recognizes the winning programs as models for universities worldwide and will continue to encourage community engagement within higher education.

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The Talloires Network is an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education (http://www.tufts.edu/talloiresnetwork/). Innovations in Civic Participation (http://icicp.org/) and Tisch College at Tufts University (http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/) serve as secretariat of the Network.

The MacJannet Foundation carries out the life work of Donald and Charlotte MacJannet by offering scholarship programs, awards, and other financial support for the Tufts University European Center in Talloires, France (http://www.macjannet.org/).

The MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship recognizes exceptional student civic engagement initiatives based in Talloires Network member universities around the world and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts. Visit http://www.macjannetprize.org/ in the upcoming months for profiles of the winning programs, and for information about next year’s competition.

BOSTON — Young people in all socio-economic groups have college aspirations. But despite their aspirations, low-income students and those who are the first in their families to pursue higher education are severely underrepresented on college campuses. Now, Campus Compact state affiliates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been awarded grants to reinforce and expand efforts already underway to prepare students as young as 6th grade for college.

The grants are the result of a generous donation to Campus Compact’s national office from Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indiana-based organization committed to enrolling and graduating more students from college—especially low-income students, students of color, first-generation students and adult learners. Lumina’s goal is to increase the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

Awardees include the Illinois Campus Compact, which is led by Executive Director Kathy Engeklen; Indiana Campus Compact led by Executive Director Margaret Stevens; Michigan Campus Compact led by Executive Director Renée Zientek; and Wisconsin Campus Compact led by Executive Director Pamela Proulx-Curry, Ph.D.

KH2GO is a multiyear effort sponsored by the American Council on Education, Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Ad Council that encourages 8th through 10th graders to prepare for college using four simple step or messages:

1. Let everyone know that you’re going to college and need their help.
2. Take the tough classes to be ready for college.
3. Find out what kind of school is the best match for you and your career goals.
4. If you think you can’t afford college, think again. There’s lots of aid out there.

In making the announcement, Campus Compact President, Maureen F. Curley, noted, “Access to and success in college have been issues of deep concern at Campus Compact for many years. We were honored when Lumina Foundation chose to fund us so significantly earlier this year, and—in turn—we are happy to pass along some of their largess in the form of these modest grants.”

“Thanks to Lumina, Campus Compact will also convene a first-of-its-kind, invitation-only summit on October 12th and 13th for our 1,100 member college and university presidents,” Curley continued, “We will meet at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. to explore new partnerships that may help ensure success for students and for institutions alike.”

About Campus Compact

Campus Compact is a nonprofit coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents—representing some 6 million students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only national association dedicated to this mission, Campus Compact is a leader in building civic engagement into campus and academic life.

For more information about Campus Compact, visit http://www.compact.org or contact Sue C. Kelman, Communication Director, at 617.357.1881, x207 or skelman {at} compact(.)org.

About Lumina Foundation

Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based private foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access to and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, especially underserved student groups such as minorities, students from low-income families, first-time college-goers and working adults. The Foundation believes postsecondary education is one of the most beneficial investments individuals can make in themselves and that a society can make in its people.

For more information about Lumina, contact Kate Snedeker, Communication Associate, at 317.258.3748 and ksnedeker {at} luminafoundation(.)org.

Westport, Connecticut — Yesterday, during the America East Conference Basketball Championship, Newman’s Own Foundation unveiled the top three grant recipients of its first-ever Campus Community Service Challenge. Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf in connection with University of Vermont’s Campus Kitchen received the top grant of $25,000. Best Buddies Connecticut working with University of Hartford’s Best Buddies chapter received $15,000. $10,000 was awarded to The River Coalition in partnership with University of Maine’s Black Bear Mentors. In total, over $100,000 was awarded to nonprofits throughout the tournament.

»Read the entire press release at http://newmansownfoundation.org/Content/389.php

Charleston, W.Va. – West Virginia Campus Compact, a statewide initiative sponsored by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and housed at West Virginia University, has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to create a civic engagement service learning model involving training and mini-grants to partnerships between member colleges and community organizations.

West Virginia Campus Compact, which is part of a national coalition of more than 1,100 colleges and universities representing approximately six million students, is comprised of 26 member institutions, including public and private and four-year and two-year colleges and universities. By encouraging civic engagement in higher education, the program provides opportunities for students to engage in service learning and community service.

“West Virginia Campus Compact is grateful and pleased to receive this award,” said Franchesca Nestor, the program’s director. “As a result of this funding, we will be able to create strong links between our campuses and communities, leading to the kind of long term and important partnerships that can make a difference for our students, our citizens, and our state. It is our hope that the model, which will be generated by this grant, can be implemented again and again between equal campus and community partners for years to come.”

The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is an independent foundation established in 1944 by Michael and Sarah Benedum, natives respectively of Bridgeport and Blacksville, West Virginia. They named the Foundation in memory of their only child, Claude Worthington Benedum, who died in 1918 at age 20. Grants are made in the areas of education, economic development, civic engagement, health and human services, and community development to advance specific initiatives in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The grant will be administered by the West Virginia University Foundation.

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Leading statewide higher education coalition will make grants available for change-making student-led service and service-learning projects that will aid those hardest hit by the economic crisis and help California achieve a more innovative, green and sustainable future.

San Francisco, CA – To catalyze and mobilize California colleges and universities to aid in the state’s recovery and renewal, California’s only statewide coalition dedicated to ensuring higher education’s civic purposes today announced that it will make up to six grants available as part of the second phase of its Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative. California Campus Compact’s Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative encourages and supports change-making student-led service and service-learning projects that will not only aid those hardest hit by California’s economic crisis, but also help California emerge from the crisis with a more innovative, green and sustainable economic future.

“California higher education institutions have long served as incubators of innovation,” said Elaine Ikeda, executive director of California Campus Compact. “We truly believe that the energy and spirit to serve, lead and transform cascades among inspired college students throughout California—and it is that spirit that we hope to harness with this grant opportunity.”

California Campus Compact is funding Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative and a second initiative, Social Innovation Generation: California Recovery and Renewal Initiative, through a three-year Learn and Serve America Higher Education grant of $1.3 million from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Through both initiatives, California Campus Compact will work with more than 85 campuses, 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 500 faculty, staff and administrators and 300 nonprofit organizations.

A detailed Request for Proposals for the second phase of Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative is available at www.cacampuscompact.org along with information on how to register for a one-hour technical assistance conference call, scheduled for March 10, 2010. To apply for this grant opportunity, colleges and universities must be current members of California Campus Compact. The application deadline is May 5, 2010.

Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative Phase One Grantees

On January 1, 2010, California Campus Compact announced the three grantees selected to participate in the first phase of Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative. They are:

California State University, Chico. With the city of Chico’s increasing number of home foreclosures and a poverty rate that is almost double that of the state, more than a quarter of its residents now live below the poverty line. To help nonprofit organizations in the city meet the needs of a growing population in crisis, Community Action Volunteers in Education, a program of the Associated Students at California State University, Chico, is developing Chico Homeless Advocates. Through this program, student leaders will provide outreach and support to homeless individuals and families along with volunteer hours to support the staff of shelters, meal, job-training, counseling and mental health outreach programs. California State University, Chico is collaborating on the Chico Homeless Advocates Program with the City of Chico, Greater Chico Homeless Task Force, Torres Community Shelter, Jesus Center Kitchen and the Sixth Street Drop-in Center.

“These community agencies desperately need volunteers, and through this program we hope to provide a regular stream of student-volunteers to support their efforts,” said Mary Flynn, program administrator for Community Action Volunteers in Education. “Students will receive extensive training before they begin to volunteer, and we believe that through this experience, they will gain a greater understanding and empathy for members of our community who struggle with issues related to hunger and homelessness.”

University of California, Los Angeles. To address the rising rate of childhood obesity among at-risk youth in Los Angeles, introduce and encourage healthier eating options and restart school garden programs lost to unprecedented budget cuts, University of California, Los Angeles’s 200-member E3: Ecology, Economy and Equity student group is partnering with Farm to School, a nationwide nonprofit organization that promotes healthy eating and improving school nutrition by connecting K-12 schools with local farms and maintaining school gardens. Through the partnership, students will be restarting school gardens and sustainable food programs in communities that have been most adversely impacted by California’s economic downturn while providing mentorship to middle school and high school youth through their collaborative work in the gardens.

“We are really looking forward to getting our hands dirty and working with the high school and middle school students to restart their schools’ gardens,” said DeeAnn Resk, a graduate student who helped develop the grant proposal in conjunction with the University of California Los Angeles’s Center for Community Learning. “We are very concerned about unequal access to healthy and local produce for students in disadvantaged communities, and we want to promote healthy eating among these youth and their families.”

University of Southern California. The area immediately surrounding the University of Southern California’s main campus is a low-income, high-transition, multi-ethnic community that is served by small nonprofit social service providers that confront all of the major problems found in center city areas, including stepped up rates of unemployment, homelessness and crime. University of Southern California students, in collaboration with nonprofit social service providers in the area, are developing a new initiative that ties into the campus’s well-established alternative spring break program. Students and community partners will engage in community mapping and dialogues to assess how local nonprofit organizations have been impacted by the economic downturn and then plan alternative spring break activities that will support these nonprofit organizations and fill the gap left by budget cuts.

“Through this process—with students and community organizations at the table together—some very tangible community needs will be addressed,” said Melissa Gaeke, director of the Volunteer Center at the University of Southern California. “Students will have the opportunity to really grapple with defining a problem and working through it to achieve an outcome in which the service they provide will truly fill a community need. “

About California Campus Compact

California Campus Compact is a coalition of leading colleges and universities that works to build the collective commitment and capacity of colleges, universities and communities throughout California to advance civic and community engagement for a healthy, just and democratic society. Through innovative programs and initiatives, grant funding, training and technical assistance, professional development and powerful research studies and publications, California Campus Compact each year invests in and champions more than 500,000 students, faculty members, administrators and community members involved in diverse and ground-breaking activities that support and expand civic and community engagement throughout California. For more information, please visit www.cacampuscompact.org.

Dr. Elkins advises and collaborates with the network of 35 state Campus Compact offices on strategies to promote engaged campuses and the scholarship of engagement, including professional development opportunities for faculty and administrators. Dr. Elkins hold a B.A. in Social Work from Central Missouri State University, a M.S. in Student Personnel Service and Counseling from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate of Education from UMASS-Boston.

Dr. Elkins replaces Patricia Potyka, Executive Director of Texas Campus Compact, who has served on the Board since 2008 and recently resigned from the Board. The IARSLCE is grateful for her service to the association.