Campus Compact

CAMPUS COMPACT IS a consortium of over 900 university and college presidents, representing more than five million students, across the United States, whose stated mission is to advance the public purposes of colleges and universities by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility.

The organization was founded in 1985 by the presidents of three private universities (Brown, Georgetown, and Stanford) as well as by the president of the Education Commission of the States, an organization that serves a clearinghouse function for advising education institutions on helping state leaders shape educational policies. At the time, the media was apt to portray college students as nothing more than money-hungry and self-centered individuals who were unconcerned with the world around them.

The four institutional presidents felt that that perception was incorrect and wanted to demonstrate that college students could make a difference in the lives of their fellow Americans. Thus, they founded Campus Compact to give students the opportunity to make that difference through voluntary work in their communities.

Through Campus Compact, students are taught the importance of public service and helping to improve the lives of those persons less fortunate than themselves. To this end, Campus Compact provides services to its member schools, such as training for students, faculty members, and administrators; research on programs that work; advocacy toward volunteer community partnerships; and leadership development.

The success of this organization can be measured in terms of organizational growth and student participation in volunteer opportunities. For example, Campus Compact estimates that student volunteers at member campuses contribute at least $4.45 billion per year in services to their communities. Also, Campus Compact has enjoyed a large increase in both membership and activities in the five-year period between 1998 and 2003, the last year for which statistics are available.

Membership had increased from 548 to 924, and the percentage of students on member campuses who were volunteering their time had increased more than threefold, from 10 percent to 36 percent. Faculty involvement had increased from 10,800 to 22,000 faculty volunteers. Volunteers participated in a variety of programs, including those dealing with widespread hunger, housing and homelessness, environmental issues, and voting rights.

While Campus Compact is a national organization it also has state Compacts in each of the 31 states that have participating universities. The state Compacts are engaged in a variety of activities in support of the mission of the national Compact. For example, the California Compact has organized 40 conferences, workshops, and other events to provide training and opportunities to volunteers and others within their communities. In Indiana, the Compact became involved in 522 literacy programs, 85 percent of which resulted in an improvement in reading skills. The ability to read and write can have a major impact on helping people lift themselves [Page 113]out of poverty by providing them with better opportunities to succeed.