Michigan Campus Compact History
The Michigan Campus Compact is an out growth of Campus Compact: the project for public and community service. This national coalition was established in 1985 by a small group of college and university presidents who were concerned over the perception of a general decline in civic responsibility. These presidents formed the compact to create public service opportunities for college students and to develop an expectation of service as an essential part of student life and the college experience.
In 1989, The Michigan Campus Compact began its first phase of development as a three-year demonstration project funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The five founding institutions Albion College, Michigan State University, Northern Michigan University, Lansing Community College, and the University of Michigan made a commitment to create and expand voluntary service opportunities for students and to promote academic programs and public policies that encourage and support student community service. The founders strongly believed that direct student contact with social problems and voluntary efforts to solve them provide students with experiences that ask them to reflect critically on the world around them. They support this belief by using the resources of institutions to provide students with experiences that ask them to take an active role in the community outside the campuses. These real world experiences introduce students to civic involvement and lay the foundations for a lifelong ethic of public responsibility and community service that will enable them to become committed and caring citizens.
In the initial phase of development, MCC focused on developing offices of community service on college campuses. Whether an institution was private or public, offered two or four year programs, the Michigan Campus Compact assisted the institution to initiate or to strengthen existing programs. In 1992, MCC entered its second phase of development, placing emphasis on membership services and expansion. During this phase, MCC focused on recruiting more member institutions and on encouraging faculty to use service-learning pedagogy.
In 1995, Michigan Campus Compact and the Michigan Nonprofit Association joined to create a stronger voice in support of services and volunteerism in Michigan. The affiliation provided MCC member institutions greater access to community resources and volunteer/service opportunities by bringing together higher education, nonprofit agencies and the Michigan Community Service Commission. Since the merge of MCC and MNA, the Michigan Campus Compact has grown in breadth and depth, by strengthening educational education opportunities and by creatively engaging individuals in voluntary giving and service.
In 2000 MCC entered a new affiliation with the ConnectMichigan Alliance, which increased engagement with other state organizations that have common interests in volunteerism, service and civic engagement. The Connect Michigan Alliance was started as an independent organization, formed through a public/private venture of the Michigan Campus Compact, Michigan Community Service Commission, Michigan Nonprofit Association and the Volunteer Centers of Michigan that exist for charitable and educational purposes. Its intent to promote and strengthen a life-long ethic of any community service, volunteerism and civic engagement fit very naturally with the missions of MCC.
Beginning in 2001, the Michigan Campus Compact undertook a new initiative to promote student civic engagement that was at the core of MCC’s mission, which focused on “the civic purpose of higher education.” This undertaking called upon the talents and energies of students to be active members of their own community by working and feeling a sense of responsibility to improve their community.
In July of 2007 the ConnectMichigan Alliance merged with the Michigan Nonprofit Association. Through this merger, Michigan Campus Compact and the Volunteer Centers of Michigan join NPower Michigan as affiliate organizations of the Michigan Nonprofit Association. MCC plays an important role in working with higher education under this new structure, which allows MCC to grow, as well as maximize impact for the state and for our member campuses. The affiliation between MNA and MCC provides opportunities to build a more effective and efficient organization for the delivery of volunteer and service programs that will benefit the Michigan nonprofit sector.
Currently, MCC membership is 49% of Michigan’s institutions of higher education with 42 participating members. Community service and service-learning opportunities have continued to grow with the development towards civic engagement and fostered new models of civic engagement and learning. Over the next years, Michigan Campus Compact looks forward to continuing partnerships, serving as leaders to expand membership and helping students succeed with the community and civic life.