Webinar Resource: Nuts and Bolts: Creating Respectful Partnerships with Native and Indigenous Populations

Dr. Sally Thompson has spent nearly forty years working with the native tribes of the West. Trained as an anthropologist at the University of Colorado, she has worked in Montana as an archaeologist, ethnographer, and ethnohistorian. In this webinar she is joined by Crow Tribal member Shane Doyle, EdD. As colleges and universities attempt to better connect with indigenous populations, we need some guiding frameworks. This webinar addresses specific protocols in working with tribal communities.  You can view the webinar below.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPF_Xpyac18&feature=youtu.be   You can leave your feedback about this webinar below.

April Membership Spotlight

As soon as I walked into the Student Life offices, I was immediately welcomed by walls and bulletin boards advertising the events and programs Governor State University has to offer. While speaking with Illinois Campus Compact VISTA, Leah Dixon, I learned about several of these events and their importance to the campus. Leah serves as the Coordinator of the Civic Engagement and Community Service Center. When Leah arrived at Governor State in October, one of her goals was to make sure the students were more aware of the services that the center offers. Adjacent to the Civic Engagement and Community…

AmeriCorps Week 2018

March 11-17 is AmeriCorps Week, where we celebrate the people and programs that serve America. This year we share how our ILCC VISTAs “Get Things Done for America.” Follow #GetThingsDone on Facebook and Twitter, or visit this site to learn more about AmeriCorps Week 2018. RJ Swartz is serving as the VISTA for the University of Illinois Springfield. This week he and twenty students will be traveling to Beaumont, Texas to aid in Hurricane Harvey Relief. They are working with Community Collaborations International to help clean and reconstruct homes. Nelisha Gray serves as a VISTA at Northern Illinois University. She…

March Membership Spotlight: Lewis University

The Office of Community Engaged Learning lives on the third floor of the Learning Resource Center, a large brick building seeming to be one of the main attractions of Lewis University as told by the constant bustle of students and faculty there. This is where I found Laura Wilmarth Tyna and Dr. Christie Billups. Laura is the Director of Community Engaged Learning and Christie is the Curriculum Development Advisor of the office and its founding director as well as Assistant Professor of Theology. The Office of Community Engaged Learning, formerly known as the Office of Service Learning, is where faculty,…

Webinar Resource: Respectful Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples

Dr. Sally Thompson has spent nearly forty years working with the native tribes of the West. Trained as an anthropologist at the University of Colorado, she has worked in Montana as an archaeologist, ethnographer, and ethnohistorian. As founder and director of the Regional Learning Project at the University of Montana (2001-2010), Sally oversaw a team of specialists developing curriculum resources on regional history, geography and culture. As colleges and universities attempt to better connect with Native American populations, we need some guiding frameworks. Sally Thompson led an interactive discussion about how her work was transformed by working with native populations. She…

Introducing Five New Members of the Board of Directors

Illinois Campus Compact is pleased to announce the appointment of five new members to our board: Michael Amiridis, David Baker, Troy Hammond, Howard Rosing, and Camille Williamson. Each will be a vital asset as the board continues to guide ILCC’s programming. Our shared vision of a higher education system that prepares students to be mindful civic actors will be bolstered by their experience and insights. We also want to thank Jack Thomas, Jay Braatz, Ray Crossman and Tom Ramage as they transition off of our board. Their contributions to ILCC and its member institutions have made lasting impact.Michael Amiridis is the chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has…

Illinois Tech Global Leaders Recognized as Gold Star Mentoring Program

By Megan Wadin Reflecting on 2017, the Illinois Tech Global Leaders Program (GLP) is celebrating a strong year of leadership development, academic enrichment and professional mentorship. GLP Scholars across the Chicago area were supported through the college application process, attended Job Shadow events, and served their communities through ‘Community Innovation Projects’. This month, the program has been recognized by MENTOR Illinois for its Community Innovation Project’s mentorship model.  Community Innovation Project Team ‘United Innovators” held STEM education workshops for younger students across Chicago. The Gold Star Mentoring Program Award is part of MENTOR Illinois’ commitment to high quality mentoring. Following a…

Welcome Adrianne Beer!

We are happy to announce the arrival of a new Communications VISTA to the Illinois Campus Compact Office. Adrianne Beer, a graduate of Bowling Green State University, will be taking over the role from Matthew Swinehart. In the next year, she will play a vital role in increasing awareness for the impact our member campuses have on their communities through civic programming. While in college, Adrianne worked to increase voter engagement with organizations like URGE, and she continues to have a desire to work for the public good. “All throughout college I thought I would arrive at my graduation knowing my…

Webinar Resource: Food Pantry and Community Collaboration

Wisconsin and Illinois Campus Compact partnered with the Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee to present this webinar, which explores ways that on-campus food pantries are working with local food pantries to make their efforts more successful. There are several campus experiences highlighted, including: – Western Technical College + Hunger Task Force La Crosse (La Crosse, WI) – UW-Green Bay + Paul’s Pantry (Green Bay, WI) – Western Illinois University-Quad Cities (Moline, IL) View the webinar and download the PowerPoint Slides below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afY7XFbvpmA&feature=youtu.be

What is a Newman Civic Fellow?

Alexis is just one example of a successful Newman Civic Fellow candidate. Last year, five schools in Illinois were represented by students engaged in their community.

University Entrepreneurship: An Exciting New Challenge for Civic Education

In October, University of Illinois, University of Chicago and Northwestern University announced their $1.2 billion research hub co-venture in Chicago’s South Loop. Governor Rauner and other local leaders say that the new facility will stop Illinois’ “brain-drain” to the coasts.

Webinar Resource: Libraries and Civic Engagement

On Tuesday, we were joined by Sarah Goodwin Thiel of the University of Kansas and Anne Marie Gruber of the University of Northern Iowa to discuss the role of academic libraries in promoting civic engagement. You can access the entire webinar below to learn from these two engaged academic scholars, as well as directly download the slides. If you are interested in developing civic engagement resources in your community using the local library, consider reaching out to these two civic engagement professionals! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCVRAIGjJ7M Download the presentation slides as a PDF below.

Desmend Jetton – VISTA Experience

Our 2016-2017 VISTA Alum, Desmend Jetton, is now working at the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition. ISTC is a nonprofit organization that works to “cultivate technology-based economic development throughout Illinois.” We learned a little more about ISTC and how Desmend’s VISTA year is informing his work there. What is your position at ISTC? Currently, I am the 2017-2018 ISTC Program Intern. I have the privilege of handling all communications, media outreach, and press releases regarding Illinois’ innovation footprint -through innovation, data, education, and policy advocacy. A key publication I do media outreach for is our Coalition’s  Illinois Innovation Index which gauges Illinois’ innovation…

Illinois Campus Compact Executive Director Joins the Serve Illinois Commission

We are proud to announce that ILCC’s executive director, Natalie Furlett has been chosen to serve as a commissioner for the Serve Illinois Commission. The nearly 40-year-old 40-member commission is charged with supporting community service throughout Illinois. Natalie brings a strong background in volunteerism, national service and student engagement to the commission. As a member of the board that administers the AmeriCorps program throughout Illinois, Natalie will be able to employ her skills as a civic education advocate to guide the Illinois AmeriCorps program forward. Natalie looks forward to fostering greater collaboration between The Serve Illinois commission and the communities surrounding…

VISTA Experience: Janice Ayarzagoitia – From Adler to RefugeeONE

Janice Ayarzagoitia was placed at Adler University as part of ILCC’s VISTA Cohort for the 2016-2017 year. Now, she works for the refugee resettlement agency RefugeeOne. We caught up with her to glean some insights from her reflections on her VISTA year as well as learn more about her work at RefugeeOne.   How did you come to the ILCC VISTA program at Adler? A friend in my master’s program did a VISTA year in Arizona with public schools and spoke highly of the experience. She encouraged me to apply to positions in Chicago. Adler University stood out to me…

Refugee Resettlement Programs Deserve Support From Higher Education

I believe in the value of refugee resettlement programs, I believe in the value that campus can add to them, and I believe that higher education should take a strong stance against fear of the other.

2018-2019 ILCC VISTA Site Application

VISTA Site Applications for the next Academic year are now available! Whether you are continuing a VISTA program on your campus or going in with a new vision, it is important to get your application in by the deadline so that we can ensure the smoothest recruitment process. We are excited to once again work with our member campuses to craft important VISTA roles to advance civic education in Illinois! You an access the application documentation below. Complete the application and send it to MLoCasto {at} Depaul(.)edu or BTerry1 {at} depaul(.)edu by Friday, January 19th, 2018. 

Webinar Resource: Tyson Foods Summer Community Internship Program – Technical Assistance Webinar

DEADLINE TO APPLY: November 17, 2017 The Tyson Foods Summer Community Internship Program is a partnership between Campus Compact and Tyson Foods to provide an invaluable opportunity for select college students to gain professional experience while making a positive impact in our community. The program provides full-time college students an eight-week paid summer job to assist community organizations and gain experience with diverse social issues. In the summer of 2018, the program will provide 40 nonprofit organizations in the Chicago area, and Sioux City, Storm Lake, and Council Bluffs, Iowa with a grant of $3,000-3,500 to hire a qualified college…

Illinois State University Hosts Dr. Barbara Jacoby October 13th!

The Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning at Illinois State University is very excited to host Dr. Barbara Jacoby as she shares her expertise on service-learning and healthy campus-community partnerships.  Each session is free but registration is required.  More information and the registration form can be found on the ISU’s Community Engagement website. Click here to register!  

Webinar Resource: Working with Development to Advance Community Engagement

Our final Summer Webinar of 2017 series is now available for download! In this webinar we discussed how civic engagement professionals at Universities can tap into the fundraising resources available on campuses. To learn more abut this, we were joined by Jennifer McFarland, Associate Vice President of Development and Managing Director of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association and Lynette Green, Associate Vice President for College Advancement at St. Norbert College. Civic engagement projects within universities have become accustomed to applying for grants, but there is room to grow by developing on-going relationships with donors. We hope that this webinar will…