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The Mid-Career Learning Community is a year-long, sustained professional development opportunity for established community-engaged practitioners looking to create a deeper impact in their current roles.
This program provides a tailored, cohort-based experience for those with a solid professional foundation but who need a roadmap to make change possible. Through engaging with a variety of speakers, collectively addressing individual obstacles, and nurturing a growth mindset — each cohort develops into a professional network of change agents.
Mid-career community engagement professionals and community-engaged faculty often find themselves looking to the next steps in their chosen career, whether taking on a more senior role or a lateral move to a new department. Specifically, these individuals are in a dynamic time where they make an impact, are doing meaningful work, have the experience and network necessary for managing politics and systems, and want to be on the cutting edge of key issues in the field.
Program components
Over the course of one year, Mid-Career Learning Community cohorts participate in a variety of structured activities, and core programmatic elements.
- Monthly virtual meetings featuring guest presenters to dive into the issues facing mid-career faculty and staff, including identity and roles, leadership, engaged scholarship, goal setting, mentorship, and navigating institutional structures and power dynamics.
- Each monthly session includes time for community building to develop relationships, share resources, and offer support with colleagues in similar positions
- In-person opening & closing retreats at Campus Compact annual conferences. Designed as a pre-conference institute, these gatherings anchor the cohort’s learning and solidify its supportive network, establishing a foundation from which relationships can continue beyond the structure of the program.
Testimonials
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Program details
Application & selection criteria
Applications for the Mid-Career Learning Community open in the fall, with selected participants notified early in the new year.
Applicants are selected for the program based on their eligibility (must be mid-career faculty or staff from a Campus Compact member institution) and their ability to participate in all program components. Additionally, we seek to create a cohort that is diverse demographically, geographically, and by institution type.
The application requires the following materials:
- A letter of interest, not exceeding three pages, addressing the following:
- Your commitment to and experience with community-engaged teaching and/or research and/or your experience as a community engagement professional.
- Your experience and identity as a mid-career faculty or staff member in higher education and in your local campus context. What are the challenges and opportunities you would like to explore with this learning community?
- Reflection on the identities and strengths you would contribute to this engagement collaborative (Longo & Gibson, 2016) cohort and what you hope to gain by participating in it.
- Current CV or resume
- A letter of support, not exceeding two pages, from the candidate's president or chancellor, chief academic officer, chief student affairs officer, dean, chair, or direct supervisor addressing the following:
- Support for the nominee’s participation in the Mid-Career Learning Community
- A description of the institution’s support for community engagement and any foreseen institutional benefits due to the nominee’s participation in the program
- A commitment to supporting the time needed for the nominee to participate as well as covering the nominee’s Mid-Career Learning Community program fee.
- Bio & headshot
- Demographic information
Program Timeline
- Applications open: September 15th
- Applications close: November 17th
- Opening retreat: pre-conference session at Campus Compact annual conference
- Virtual meetings: monthly from April-February
- Closing retreat: next Campus Compact annual conference
Eligibility
Participation is limited to active/current Campus Compact members.
This program is open to only mid-career scholar-practitioners. Mid-career is defined as community-engaged faculty who have attained tenure or, if not on the tenure track, are beyond their sixth year or staff who have been in the field for over eight years and are not yet in a senior leadership position.
Participant expectations
Participants are expected to:
- Attend and actively participate in every aspect of the learning community, including opening and closing retreats, monthly virtual meetings, and any individual or small group collaborative meetings.
- Complete all required preparation (e.g., pre-readings, assessment, assigned tasks, etc.) and resulting action items.
- Actively communicate with the program manager and fellow cohort members throughout the experience ensuring the highest level of engagement and collaboration.
The cost to participate is $225 per person and limited scholarships may be available. Participants are also expected to cover their own expenses for attending Compact annual conferences.