Campus Compact is thrilled to announce that Kathy Sikes, Associate Director, Duke Service Learning, Duke University, Douglas Strahler, Associate Professor of Communication, Slippery Rock University, and Troy Morehouse, Associate Dean of Student Life, Husson University are the three latest community engagement practitioners to become fully certified Community Engagement Professionals as part of our Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program.
They join Jamilah Ducar, Assistant Vice Chancellor of The Engaged Campus, University of Pittsburgh, who earned full certification in September 2023, and was the winner of Campus Compact’s Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award.
The Community Engagement Professional Credential program offers a framework for community engagement professionals to grow and achieve formal recognition for the knowledge and skills they develop in their careers. The program also seeks to promote and encourage ongoing professional development among participants that foster reflective, inclusive, and equity-focused partnerships and commitments.
Kathy, Douglas, and Troy represent a bright future for community engagement professionals and the impact they can make. In addition to the personal accomplishment, being among the first individuals awarded full certification has particular significance in charting the path forward for others. Setting this example will inspire the growth and development of community engagement professionals aspiring to full certification as well.
Program Updates in Progress
Over the next 8 months, Campus Compact is set to update the Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program, focusing on making it more accessible and enriching for learning and growth. While this transformation is underway, the current Credentialing Program will be paused, with plans to reopen the credentialing program in Spring 2025.
The updated Credentialing Program will shift towards a professional development approach, emphasizing learning and growth rather than just demonstrating existing expertise. Each credential focus area will include modules designed to help practitioners develop their skills as they work toward their credentials. The program will also broaden its accessibility to support a wider audience, including newcomers to the field, graduate students, and practitioners looking to advance their skills.
Background of the Credentialing Program
In 2015, Campus Compact initiated an exploration of what it might mean to create a professional certification for higher education community and civic engagement practitioners. After a comprehensive, field-wide survey initiative, a broad-based demand for such a program was confirmed, as was a broad sense of confidence that Campus Compact could effectively and impartially lead such a program. In 2016, Campus Compact initiated a process designed to identify and define the shared knowledge and practices of community engagement professionals (CEPs) by reviewing existing empirical practice literature. In March 2019, Campus Compact publicly launched the CEP Credentialing Program, offering all qualified CEPs the opportunity to apply for the two micro-credentials that were piloted. Between 2019 and early 2021, Campus Compact made available eight core competency credentials for community engagement professionals to earn. In total, Campus Compact has identified 15 core competency areas around which to develop credentials.
If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to contribute to the redesign process, please get in touch with Emily Phaup at [email protected].