The Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a three-year grant to Indiana Campus Compact (ICC), a network of 45 public and private colleges and universities.

The grant will allow ICC to continue its role in mentoring students and faculty in higher education to be actively involved in service-learning and civic engagement, both in the classroom and in community projects.

The $1.5 million grant supports an ICC proposal entitled, “Enhancing Student Learning and Retention through Civic Engagement and Service-Learning.” The proposal grew out of recent strategic planning involving the presidents and chancellors of ICC’s member institutions.

ICC, founded in 1993, is the only Indiana coalition that brings together all sectors of higher education — public, private, and community colleges. “This generous grant from Lilly Endowment allows ICC to continue to work with each of our member campuses to develop meaningful activities that develop strong leaders,” said ICC’s Executive Director Jacquelyn McCracken. “Such active, hands-on involvement in campus and community affairs also encourages retention and can lead to higher graduation rates at Indiana’s colleges.”

Over the next three years, McCracken added, the grant will provide for the following at some or all of the ICC campuses:

• Service-learning/civic engagement centers will be developed
• Faculty members and staff will receive grants and fellowships
• Campuses will work with community partners to develop strategies for local service-learning projects
• Measurement tools will be put into place to determine the effect of service-learning on students
• Statewide meetings of faculty, staff, and students will occur on a periodic basis
• Students will receive grants to implement local and national service projects
• Websites and e-briefs will be used to increase communication among campuses and communities

The mission of Indiana Campus Compact is to involve students, faculty, and staff in service-learning and civic engagement in order to educate, prepare tomorrow’s leaders, and contribute to the quality of life in America’s communities. ICC supports the integration of service-learning and civic engagement into campus culture by facilitating collaborations, sponsoring programs, sharing best practices and promoting awareness of higher education’s role in graduating well-informed, engaged citizens.