At
the opening of this academic year, I shared my goal of emphasizing the
four academic pillars of Virginia Wesleyan University: undergraduate
research, international experience, internships, and civic engagement.
We strengthened our commitment to civic engagement last semester with
the formation of Wesleyan Engaged: Center for Civic Leadership and
Service Learning and the appointment of Dr. Brian Kurisky as director.
And I'm pleased to share that, as part of Dr. Kurisky's efforts, we have
initiated membership with Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities dedicated to civic education and community development.
Prior to my arrival at Virginia Wesleyan, I served as the state-wide chair of West Virginia’s Campus Compact for four years, representing the state to the national organization. Through that work, I developed an appreciation for the mission and vision and was pleased to learn of Dr. Kurisky's strong interest and commitment to our newly organized Virginia Campus Compact. As the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Campus Compact enables campuses to develop students’ citizenship skills and forge effective community partnerships. Its resources support faculty and staff as they pursue community-based teaching and scholarship in the service of positive change.
Prior to my arrival at Virginia Wesleyan, I served as the state-wide chair of West Virginia’s Campus Compact for four years, representing the state to the national organization. Through that work, I developed an appreciation for the mission and vision and was pleased to learn of Dr. Kurisky's strong interest and commitment to our newly organized Virginia Campus Compact. As the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Campus Compact enables campuses to develop students’ citizenship skills and forge effective community partnerships. Its resources support faculty and staff as they pursue community-based teaching and scholarship in the service of positive change.
Shortly after I
arrived at Virginia Wesleyan, I took part in Campus Compact's 30th
anniversary celebration at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the
United States Senate in Boston (view photo),
where I joined colleagues from more than 360 colleges and universities
as a signatory of the organization's Action Statement. It pleases me
that we can now proactively affirm
the following statements, which characterize Virginia Wesleyan’s current
commitments and name the ideals toward which we continue to work with
renewed dedication, focus, and vigor:
- We empower our students, faculty, staff, and community partners to co-create mutually respectful partnerships in pursuit of a just, equitable, and sustainable future for communities beyond the campus—nearby and around the world.
- We prepare our students for lives of engaged citizenship, with the motivation and capacity to deliberate, act, and lead in pursuit of the public good.
- We embrace our responsibilities as place-based institutions, contributing to the health and strength of our communities—economically, socially, environmentally, educationally, and politically.
- We harness the capacity of our institutions—through research, teaching, partnerships, and institutional practice—to challenge the prevailing social and economic inequalities that threaten our democratic future.
- We foster an environment that consistently affirms the centrality of the public purposes of higher education by setting high expectations for members of the campus community to contribute to their achievement.
