Campus Compact urges student service

National Catholic Reporter, Oct 6, 1995 by Robert McClory

In 1985, not long after Ronald Reagan began his second term, William Bennett, then secretary of education fired off one of his characteristic, shoot-from-the-hip observations. U.S college students, he said, are self-indulgent, spoiled, shallow creatures whose main conscious goal in life is to drive down to Florida during spring break with the radio blaring full volume.

The blast rankled many in higher education, none more than Howard Swearer, president of Brown University in Rhode Island. That was not his perception of the typical college student and he resented Bennett's overkill. At the same time, he recognized some grains of truth in the assessment.

Swearer contacted two colleagues, Jesuit Fr. Timothy Healy, president of Georgetown University, and Don Kennedy, president of Stanford University. They quickly agreed on the need for an organization to promote public service among students and publicize the service that already existed.

The three believed that if they could get 100 college presidents across the country to cooperate, they could make a substantial impact. This year, the entity they conceived, Campus Compact, celebrates its 10th anniversary with 522 colleges and universities represented. Supported in large measure by its efforts, a virtual explosion in student volunteer and academic-connected activity has occurred.

According to organization statistics, students at Campus Compact schools contributed more than 23 million hours of community service in the past school year - which comes to about 11,000 years.

At the average Campus Compact school, almost 25 percent of the students are involved, as are 24 percent of faculty. Activities range from the old, tried-and-true student tutoring at local public schools to school-wide projects like the creation at the University of Pennsylvania of an entire community organization that uses the resources of students and faculty for projects in health, environmental and economic improvement in the neighborhoods.

About 20 percent of the involved schools are Catholic institutions, says Nancy Rhodes, who is the compact's national director and heads a 10-person office housed at Brown University, which is funded by yearly membership fees from participating schools.

School's public purpose

The religious-oriented schools are the easiest to work with, she says, because they don't have to be convinced about service. It's just part of their long, uninterrupted tradition.

However, she adds, practically every college or university, religious or not, says something in its formation charter about the "public purposes" of the school. But over the years the emphasis on individual student gain, landing a job and improving one's standard of living tended to diminish the other purposes, explains Rhodes.

Then in the 1960s, many students snapped out of their career obsession to become active in societal issues like civil rights, women's equality and the Vietnam War protest. In the 1970s a backlash occurred, as people became disillusioned about the possibility of solving problems through the political process. Then the 1980s saw a modest resurgence in volunteerism: individuals seeking to make a contribution but without expecting any great changes in societal structures. In Rhodes' view, it was that trend that Campus Compact plugged into in the mid-1980s.

At its base the compact is anything but a grassroots association. It is a top-down coalition, whose only members are the school presidents themselves. The founders "were absolutely adamant about that," said Rhodes. "If a president can't attend a board meeting, he can't send a substitute. It's a presidents' organization."

This, of course, may help explain Campus Compact's success. Presidents set policy and can put moral and other kinds of pressure on faculty and administrators to initiate and oversee programs. They are also high-profile people in the community who can interact creatively with business and governmental leaders.

The organization has proved especially effective in putting faculties and staff in direct contact with experts in areas like connecting curriculum with service, motivating students to get involved, relating to institutions in the community and getting funding and other resources to support projects. Last year the compact sponsored some 50 workshops and conferences around the country. It has enjoyed especially happy relations with the Clinton administration. Through the Corporation for National and Community Service, created by Congress in 1993, the compact has obtained grants that have been passed on to members, and it has helped other institutions leverage their own grants for community service projects.

Campus Compact also provides research and technical assistance to schools, publishes supportive materials and publicizes volunteer and service initiatives. Specifically funded is the "Invisible College," made up of 60 faculty members who are modeling unusual initiatives in what is known as "service learning."

Service learning is hot