A little over a month ago, we held our first in-person conference since 2018 in Denver, CO, and over 700 members, partners, students, and higher education professionals were there to experience it! In case you missed it (or want to look back)—here’s a brief recap of the event!
The conference kicked off on Monday, April 8 with pre-conference institutes in the morning. All attendees then came together for our opening & welcome and the first general session, which included the presentation of the Guarasci and Padrón awards for institutional transformation to Rutgers University-Camden and Delta College. The bulk of the session was focused on the topic, “Defending Higher Education, Advancing Inclusive Democracy,” which featured individual keynotes followed by a casual conversation with Sharon L. Davies, President and CEO of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, and María Teresa Kumar, President of Voto Latino. Both speakers discussed the current challenges facing higher education civic and community engagement through coordinated campaigns to attack higher education, and especially the practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The first general session was followed by the first round of the many breakout sessions offered throughout the conference. Nearly 150 breakout sessions were held over the course of three days, with over 300 speakers from colleges, universities, and partner organizations across the country. Breakout sessions offered a wide range of ways to engage with conference materials—from intimate roundtable discussions to intensive knowledge-to-action workshops.
The first day wrapped up with the first of several rounds of community and network meetings, and was capped off with food, drinks, and connection at our signature reception. During the reception, attendees had the opportunity to engage with our exhibiting sponsors and learn more about the great tools and resources they had to offer.
To kick off day 2 of Compact24, we started with a general session that included the presentation of the Ehrlich and Lynton faculty awards to Khirsten Scott, Michelle Billies, and Devra Dang. After that, we were very excited to welcome Michael Smith, the chief executive officer of AmeriCorps to offer remarks at our morning general session. He was then joined by Matt Farley, chief strategy officer and senior director of operations at Campus Compact, J.R. LaPlante, associate vice president of the Wokini Initiative at South Dakota State University, Eric Lugo, the national director of the College Renaissance Corps program at Campus Compact, Janine Davidson, president of Metropolitan State University of Denver for a panel conversation about the importance of national service.
The rest of the day featured a ton of engaging breakout sessions, which saw crowded rooms and active participation. The afternoon featured our third and penultimate general session, which included the presentation of the Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award to Jamilah Ducar. Nadinne Cruz was in attendance to present the award and shared inspiring anecdotes about her life and career. The primary discussion offered various perspectives on the work of bridge-building and engagement across lines of difference. After lightning talks that featured Lara Schwartz (American University), Manu Meel (BridgeUSA), and Eunice Nichols (CoGenerate), Michael Murray, President & CEO of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations led a panel discussion that also included Mia Strubel Iram (Carleton College), Martín Carcasson (Colorado State University) and Suchitra Gururaj (The University of Texas at Austin).
Tuesday ended with our poster session and networking happy hour. The room was packed full of attendees and speakers sharing their innovative ideas and effective programs.
Day three of the conference opened with our final general session, which featured a panel discussion that centered around questions posed by Campus Compact’s Student Design Fellows, who had been present and participated in the entire conference to date. The panel, which featured Bobbie Laur, president of Campus Compact, Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, associate vice chancellor of the Center for Excellence in Inclusive Democracy at Maricopa Community Colleges, Terri Taylor, strategy director for innovation and discovery at Lumina Foundation, Timothy Eatman, inaugural dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community and professor of Urban Education at Rutgers University-Newark, and Kristen Shahverdian, program director for Free Expression and Education at PEN America, faced tough questions about the responsibilities and role of higher education.
After a final set of breakout sessions, the conference ended, and we returned home tired but revitalized. When reflecting on our experience at the event, Compact staff shared that we were all inspired by all the stories of connection, learning, and collaboration that we heard.
If you’d like to see more from Compact24, don’t miss our Compact24 YouTube playlist, which features recordings from general sessions. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT6L7cLyp_M&list=PLZpEMvWFeizFuS6kgfDwoD6Xjdansvj7h
Also, a quick shout out to all our sponsors—The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Academic Search, Give Pulse, University of Colorado Boulder, Augsburg University, Canopy, Community Learning Partnership, Peace Corps, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Washington Navigators, The Swearer Center at Brown University, Georgetown University, The Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Campus Vote Project, Metropolitan State University of Denver, National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, State Universities of Massachusetts Council of Presidents, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, Texas A&M University Bush School of Government & Public Service, and Unify America. Our conference wouldn’t have been possible without your generous support! Thank you!
Don't forget to save the date for our next annual conference, Compact25, which will be held from March 31-April 2, 2025 in Atlanta, GA. Sign up now to be added to our mailing list and receive updates as registration and the call for proposals open this summer.