Campus Compact Welcomes Without Limits to Denver in 2013

Colorado Campus Compact (CCC) is a membership organization of 21 college and university presidents dedicated to promoting the public good through engaged campus work. CCC is part of a national coalition of more than 1,100 colleges and universities that are passionately committed to preparing students to be active, committed, and informed leaders and citizens. At CCC, we know that when students get involved in community-based projects, they’re not just building houses, or tutoring kids, or cleaning trails, or registering voters. They’re feeling what it means to be an active member of their community. And in the process, they’re seeing that there is as much to learn as there is to give.

Our mission can be accomplished through many avenues, but certainly one of the most powerful is service-learning. One of CCC’s core endeavors is to expose faculty to this powerful pedagogy through high quality professional development opportunities and then provide them ongoing resources and support as they implement and grow their service learning courses. It only makes sense then that we would support the National Service-Learning Conference. Without Limits, hosted here in Denver in 2013, offers a fantastic opportunity for the faculty and staff with whom we work to network with other service-learning practitioners from across the nation (and world!), attend workshops to help them deepen their practice, and present themselves on the good work they’re doing on their campuses and in their communities. In addition, and equally exciting, it offers this same opportunity to their students. What’s not to love?

Recently, CCC has begun work on an Engaged Campus Initiative. This initiative seeks to aid our member campuses in infusing community engagement throughout campus culture so that community is taken into account not just in the classroom or in the volunteer office, but in alumni relations, business decisions, purchasing practices, etc. NYLC’s approach to the National Service-Learning Conference provides an excellent model for these ambitions. When NYLC made the decision to host the conference in Denver, it brought in community stakeholders to assist with planning efforts. As a result, the conference will feature Colorado-based talent, employ the resources of local volunteers, and offer participants a chance to experience Denver through local service projects. Our investment is high because we’ve been invited to collaborate in the process. At its broadest level, the conference helps us illustrate the multiple and mutual benefits of true reciprocal community partnership. With energy and enthusiasm around these ideas building on our member campuses with each passing day, the National Service-Learning Conference’s arrival in Denver couldn’t have come at a better time!