The Democracy Commitment and its network of nearly 100 community colleges has joined Campus Compact’s national network, providing specialized support for community colleges

Boston, MA – As of July 1, 2018 The Democracy Commitment (TDC), an effort dedicated to advancing the civic power of community college students, faculty, and staff, has become an initiative of Campus Compact. The launch of the TDC initiative at Campus Compact will provide targeted programming and dedicated resources to support civic learning at community colleges and contribute to a healthy democracy by preparing students for active, engaged participation in public life.

The initiative will be led by Verdis L. Robinson, Campus Compact’s new director for community college engagement, who was formerly national director of TDC.

The community college members of TDC will join Campus Compact, receiving all the benefits that come with membership in its network of over 1,000 higher education institutions across the country. Meanwhile, this new initiative will provide all community college members of Campus Compact with expanded support specific to the challenges and opportunities of their campuses.

“I am thrilled that The Democracy Commitment has become an initiative of Campus Compact,” commented Andrew Seligsohn, president of Campus Compact. “The leadership of TDC and Campus Compact share a commitment to enabling higher education to contribute to the health and strength of our democracy. Together, we can do much more than either of us can alone to build opportunities for community college students—many of them first-generation, low-income, and students of color—to take their rightful place as agents of positive change in their communities and our country.”

“TDC is thankful to have been supported over the past six years by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, but our work for community colleges has been too limited by our own constrained resources.” said Verdis Robinson, director for community college engagement at Campus Compact and former national director of TDC. “Joining Campus Compact will expand TDC’s capacity to reach more institutions and provide a higher platform for community colleges working in the realm of civic engagement.”

Over the coming months, a team made up of leadership from Campus Compact and TDC will oversee the transition. Beginning this summer, additional community college resources will be made available online at compact.org.

Campus Compact’s community college initiative and its director of community college engagement will be based out of Campus Compact’s national office in Boston.