By Maggie Grove, Interim President, Campus Compact

Thanksgiving is coming. It will be the first time (in a long long time) for many to gather with friends and family, to travel, or to catch a breath. At Campus Compact, we have been talking about gratitude and resilience. This fall, our staff have listened to remarkable stories about how students, faculty, and institutional leaders have supported one another, shared resources, stood up, and continued to advance the public purposes of higher education in impossible contexts—pushing for education for informed and active democratic participation, community-based learning and scholarship, responsibility as anchors in communities, and for authentic partnership. We have witnessed true coalition work.

We are grateful for the leadership of our members. Faculty, civic and community engagement professionals, presidents, and students are defining our work—collectively. You are showing up to facilitate national communities of practice, leading work through the Research University Civic Engagement Network and Community Colleges for Democracy affinity networks, contributing to publications, partnering with us to lift up great local content through webinars and events, and working with us to convene people locally, regionally, and nationally.

We are grateful for our network of state affiliates. As we evolve the way we organize the work of the Compact, we celebrate the deep and wide contributions of our affiliate network staff in building this incredible coalition of engaged institutions and leaders. Your leadership in building a movement for higher education civic engagement has been a force for national change.

Finally, we are grateful for our board of directors and staff, who have embraced new ways of thinking and doing, who are absolutely mission-driven, and who consistently seek the alignment of values and practice.

We wish you all a joyous Thanksgiving and a chance to catch your breath.