Campus Compact has named Lockwood a recipient of a Newman Civic Fellowship, which recognizes and supports community-oriented students and is named for Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact.
Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has selected Ryan Lockwood ’24 for the organization’s 2022-23 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Lockwood will join 178 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.
Lockwood is studying business administration, marketing and political science at Elon and serves as a senator in the Student Government Association and participates in Elon’s Living Learning Community focused on civic engagement. He notes that creating open dialogue is an effective approach to addressing many of the world’s social issues.
“Gathering different perspectives surrounding an issue can provide an all-encompassing way to approach and solve political challenges,” Lockwood said in his personal statement for the fellowship. “As a senator in Elon University’s Student Government Association, I participate in civil discussions every week regarding issues with the university and work towards collaborative solutions.”
Lockwood is also a leader in Elon’s Living Learning Community that is focused on civic engagement and he says provides students the opportunity to come together to discuss global political issues. “I have seen many students find commonalities in their perspectives and even propose solutions that could potentially be public policy in the future,” Lockwood said. “Civil discourse has always been very important to me and will continue to be my passion as I continue to address social issues.”
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 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.
“We are proud to name such an outstanding and diverse group of students Newman Civic Fellows,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. “Their passion and resolve to take action on the wide range of issues challenging our neighborhoods and communities is inspiring and deeply needed. We cannot wait to engage with them through this transformative experience.”
In her recommendation of Lockwood for the fellowship, Elon President Connie Ledoux Book said that he is a student leader who is committed to teaching others to use civil discourse to address political polarization and find solutions to social challenges. “Ryan prepares students to participate in civic engagement opportunities where they can gain community engagement skills and an understanding of their civic responsibilities,” Book said. “He is a leader who challenges students to find common threads with others across differences and propose solutions that could advance the public good.”
The Newman Civic Fellowship program is supported by the KPMG Foundation. Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship. You can read more about each of the student leaders selected for this year’s cohort here.
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.