UM Joins Higher Ed, Community Engagement Organization

By Erin Garrett

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi recently became a member of Campus Compact, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement.

To educate the university community about available Campus Compact resources, an open house is planned for 2 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 2) in The Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union, Room 321.

Campus Compact is the largest and oldest association of its kind. Its membership is made up of thousands of presidents, faculty, researchers, students, and civic and community engagement experts at colleges and universities across the nation.

“I’ve been involved in Campus Compact since I was introduced to them as a graduate student,” said Castel Sweet, UM director of community engagement. “The organization has offered me a lot of professional development opportunities. 

“When the university began exploring membership, I realized that it would be beneficial in many ways. They have resources for virtually every aspect of our campus.”

Some of these resources include fellowships, affinity networks, impact awards and national conferences.

Sweet was recently named the association’s strategy and visioning fellow. In this role, she will work with the organization’s leadership team on a variety of strategic visioning and planning initiatives that will begin next summer.

“Castel’s passion, knowledge and expertise will be a huge asset to Campus Compact’s strategic visioning process,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur in a release about the fellowship. “We are thrilled and thankful to work with her and are so optimistic about how her contributions will positively impact our members, communities and our democracy.”

Sweet is looking forward to her role as a liaison between the organization and the Ole Miss campus.

“There are so many things for every single person and unit on campus to plug into,” Sweet said. “For staff who are doing civic engagement work, they have student fellowships. They have opportunities for faculty who are doing research. 

“I am excited about the possibility of elevating our institution’s work through the resources offered by Campus Compact.” 

An RSVP to the event is recommended, but not required. To RSVP, visit bit.ly/umcampuscompact.