Purdue University North Central Chancellor Dr. James B. Dworkin recently joined more than 80 presidents and chancellors from across higher education at a Campus Compact summit at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston.
The chancellors and presidents in attendance were among the 350 campus leaders from institutions across the country who signed the Campus Compact 30th Anniversary Action Statement, a document that commits campuses to taking specific steps to deepen their engagement for the benefit of students, communities and the broader public.
The document concludes with a commitment by each signatory to create a Campus Civic Action Plan to be shared publicly. Campus Compact will support campuses in developing these plans.
"Colleges and universities exist to promote public goods," said Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. "By signing the Action Statement and committing to develop Campus Civic Action Plans, these 350 presidents and chancellors are challenging their institutions to go even further in preparing students for lives of engaged citizenship, contributing to the health of communities both local and global, and sustaining our democracy in the face of the twin challenges of inequality and polarization."
Campus Compact is a nonprofit coalition of nearly 1,100 college and university presidents representing some six 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 community engagement into campus and academic life by preparing students for lives of engaged citizenship and by building partnerships to advance community and public goals.
Dworkin has served on the board of the Campus Compact and the Indiana Campus Compact and has served as board chairman of both organizations.
Speakers at the event include General Stanley McChrystal, chair of the Service Year Alliance; Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet; Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools; and a team of social entrepreneurs behind a college access organization called TeenSHARP.
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, president of the board and co-founder of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, welcomed attendees.
“Each of these institutions has demonstrated a commitment to higher education with a higher purpose - education dedicated to service of the public good,” Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “We look forward to working with these universities to inspire a new generation of global leaders who are interested in not just imagining a better world, but rolling up their sleeves and doing something about it.”