Practitioners from seven California colleges and universities will participate in a nationwide institute to explore the future of higher education’s service-learning and civic and community engagement movement.

San Francisco, CA – Eight long-time civic and community engagement practitioners from California Campus Compact member colleges and universities are among a select group of service-learning and civic and community engagement leaders from colleges and universities throughout the nation who have been selected to participate in a one-of-a-kind advanced professional development program. The program is designed to explore cutting-edge issues in the field and support these leaders in influencing their campuses and contributing to advancing the service-learning and civic and community engagement movement on the local, state and national levels.

Diving Deep: Campus Compact’s Institute for Experienced Civic and Community Engagement Practitioners is aimed at experienced practitioners who are fulfilling the role of a service-learning director and/or are charged with institutionalizing service-learning and/or civic engagement within their campus and want to serve as active leaders within higher education and the larger service-learning and civic and community engagement movement. The institute will take place over three-and-a-half days in July 2010 and will include interactive workshops and presentations along with networking opportunities.

The eight participants from California, selected through a competitive application process, hail from public, private and faith-based colleges throughout the state. They are:

• Ann Bolick-Floss, Director, Career Center and Service-Learning Programs, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

• Karin Cotterman, Associate Director, Engaged Scholarship, Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

• Christopher Nayve, Associate Director, Center for Community Service-Learning, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA

• Jennifer Pigza, Associate Director, Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA

• Julie Reed, Director, Service-Learning and Community Action, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

• Megan Voorhees, Director of Public Service/Assistant Dean of Students, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

• Marshall Welch, Director, Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA

• Merri Whitelock, Director, Community Engagement, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA

“California Campus Compact is pleased that these eight outstanding civic and community engagement practitioners—all from our member campus network—will be participating in Diving Deep,” said Elaine Ikeda, executive director of California Campus Compact.  “Through Diving Deep, they will have the opportunity to learn from their peers as part of a supportive, powerful learning community and expand their leadership capacity to sustain and grow service-learning and civic and community engagement in their institutions and in the field.”

More information about Diving Deep: Campus Compact’s Institute for Experienced Civic and Community Engagement Practitioners is available at /initiatives/professional-development-training/.

About California Campus Compact

California Campus Compact is a coalition of leading colleges and universities that works to build the collective commitment and capacity of colleges, universities and communities throughout California to advance civic and community engagement for a healthy, just and democratic society. Through innovative programs and initiatives, grant funding, training and technical assistance, professional development and powerful research studies and publications, California Campus Compact each year invests in and champions more than 500,000 students, faculty members, administrators and community members involved in diverse and ground-breaking activities that support and expand civic and community engagement throughout California. For more information, please visit http://www.cacampuscompact.org.

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