The inaugural John H. Barnhill Civic Trailblazer Award was bestowed on students from UNC-Chapel Hill and Appalachian State University.
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John H. Barnhill ’92, assistant vice president of University Advancement and the founding director of a statewide organization whose mission is to build nonprofit partnerships between college campuses and community agencies, is the namesake of a new award given this month to two students for their innovation in civic engagement.
NC Campus Compact recognized the UNC-Chapel Hill and the Appalachian State University students at a Nov. 12 banquet where each received the inaugural John H. Barnhill Civic Trailblazer Award.
The Compact created the award in celebration of its 10th anniversary and to recognize Barnhill’s professional accomplishments. The award will be given annually to a student at a NC Campus Compact member institution who, like Barnhill, demonstrates innovation in civic engagement by creating foundations that expand partnerships amongst communities, campuses, and individuals.
Morgan Abbott, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Samuel Williams, a senior at Appalachian State University, received the award from Barnhill and Lisa Keyne, the Compact’s current executive director. Abbott was recognized for founding Carolina for Amani, an organization that utilizes university interns to make the adoption process more efficient, accessible and safe in Kenya.
Williams received the award for helping establish ACT OUT!, a group of students that he mentored by offering training and advice on how to plan and organize service projects that responded to a specific community need and founding Men of Service Day.
Barnhill entered college with a passion for serving and a commitment to searching out and developing leaders. Devoting almost 30 hours a week in direct service while a student at Elon, in 1989 he co-founded the campus’s Habitat for Humanity Chapter and founded Elon Volunteers! in 1990. Today, more than 20 years later, this program continues with more than 100 EV! volunteers mobilizing students to volunteer in excess of 100,000 hours each year.
Barnhill became Elon University’s first paid staff to coordinate volunteer service on campus, helping form the Office of Volunteer Programs. Under his leadership, the office developed into the endowed, nationally recognized Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement.
In 1993, Barnhill helped form North Carolina Campus Volunteers, a statewide coalition of students and staff who unified volunteerism across the state. Through his guidance, NCCV created and hosted the first Student Conference 19 years ago. NCCV merged with NC Campus Compact when it formed in 2002, and the Compact has continued to host the yearly conferences.
In 2002, Barnhill was selected to serve as the founding executive director of North Carolina Campus Compact.
North Carolina Campus Compact builds collaborations amongst public, independent and community colleges and universities. Presidents and chancellors commit their institutions to being “engaged campuses” that enhance a student’s sense of responsibility, citizenship, leadership and awareness of community, and impact the community by partnering with local organizations to address real needs.
For additional information about NC Campus Compact or the student conferences, visit www.nccampuscompact.org.