Organization History

National Organization

Campus Compact is a nationwide coalition of college and university presidents. It was founded in 1985 by the presidents of Brown, Georgetown, and Stanford universities, and the president of the Education Commission of the States.

The organization was established to counter the mid-1980’s belief that college students were materialistic and self-absorbed, more interested in making money than in helping their neighbors. The founding presidents believed that this public image was false. They noted that many students on campuses across the country were involved in community service, and they believed that many more would follow suit with the proper encouragement. Toward this end, these four educational leaders founded Campus Compact.

Today, Campus Compact has a rapidly growing membership of more than 900 public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities located in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. There is one international member. The national office is at Brown University and affiliated network offices are in 30 states.

State Organization

Washington Campus Compact (WACC) was formed in February 1992 by seven Washington higher education presidents. Kenneth P. Mortimer, then president of Western Washington University (WWU), assumed a leadership role by chairing the executive committee and hosting the state organization on the WWU campus. The initial goals focused on providing opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to develop a civic ethic; developing a network of service-learning practitioners to share resources and expand strategies; and integrating service-learning into higher education curricula.

Today, WWU remains the host campus for WACC, which now serves a growing membership of more than 25 Washington higher education presidents representing two-year public, four-year private, and four-year public institutions. As the field of community service and service-learning in higher education has expanded, so too has Washington Campus Compact. The current organizational vision and mission represent the priorities identified by our member presidents and service-learning practitioners in diverse communities throughout the state.

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