Who We Are

Campus Compact is a national coalition of 1,000+ colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. We build democracy through civic education and community development.

We are a relationship-driven organization. Our national office is in Boston, MA, with state and regional Campus Compacts providing place-based support for member institutions located throughout the country. 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. Our resources support administrators, faculty, staff, and students as they pursue community-based teaching, scholarship, and action in the service of the public good.

We are a values-driven organization. These core values are stated in our 30th Anniversary Action Statement and are reflective of our past work and current aspirations:

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.

OUR MISSION

Campus Compact advances the public purposes of colleges and universities by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. Campus Compact envisions colleges and universities as vital agents and architects of a diverse democracy, committed to educating students for responsible citizenship in ways that both deepen their education and improve the quality of community life. We challenge all of higher education to make civic and community engagement an institutional priority.

Because we are a coalition of colleges and universities, Campus Compact puts special emphasis on partnerships to support educational equity. We help colleges and universities advance community goals in areas such as K-12 learning, college readiness, college access, and the development of student civic knowledge and skills at every level. Campus Compact’s work strengthens colleges and universities as contributors to educational equity now while developing the next generation of citizens and leaders for our communities.