Campus News

Great Falls College student honored as Newman Civic Fellow

Industrial tech graduate Dan Harvey, who races a car at the Electric City Speedway, is this year's Newman Civic Fellow for Great Falls College.

Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has named 154 student civic leaders who will make up the organization’s 2023-2024 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Dan Harvey, a student at Great Falls College MSU, will join students from 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico to form the cohort.

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world. The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. In the spirit of Dr. Newman’s leadership, fellows are nominated by Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors, who are invited to select one outstanding student from their campus each year.

 Dan is an inspiration as he is a ray of sunshine and laughter around campus, where he excels in the classroom and is a role model for others. He volunteers for the youth in the Great Falls community, and he is a light for those who face obstacles in getting their education as he has overcome addiction and legal troubles to be a star student and stellar human being. Dan uses his education at Great Falls College to race a car at the local track, where he tells everyone about the value of education and the benefits of living a sober life.

 Through the fellowship, Campus Compact will provide these students with a year of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth. Each year, fellows participate in numerous virtual training and networking opportunities to help provide them with the skills and connections they need to create large-scale positive change. The cornerstone of the fellowship is the Annual Convening of Fellows, which offers intensive in-person skill-building and networking over the course of two days. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

 “Dan is such a positive influence and inspiration to his fellow students, his instructors and, in fact, the entire campus,” said Dr. Stephanie Erdmann, CEO/cean of Great Falls College. “We are all very proud of him.”

 “We are honored to recognize such an outstanding group of community-committed students,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. “One of the best parts of the Newman Civic Fellowships is the richness of students’ perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds—and how these varied stories all led to their passionate engagement with the social, political, and environmental issues impacting our world. These students will be the catalysts for change on many levels, and we are privileged to help empower them to create that change.”

Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship. You can read more about each of the student leaders selected for this year’s cohort at compact.org/current-programs/newman-civic-fellowship/newman-civic-fellows.

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Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact supports institutions in fulfilling their public purposes by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. As the largest national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, we provide professional development to administrators and faculty to enable them to engage effectively, facilitate national partnerships connecting campuses with key issues in their local communities, build pilot programs to test and refine promising models in engaged teaching and scholarship, celebrate and cultivate student civic leadership, and convene higher education institutions and partners beyond higher education to share knowledge and develop collective capacity. Visit www.compact.org.

Contact:
Molly Leiper, Director of Communications
mleiper@compact.org