Alverno College student honored as Newman Civic Fellow

March 7, 2019

Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced the 262 students who will make up the organization's 2019-20 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Among the honorees is Alverno College student Donna Lewis-Taylor. This is the third year in a row an Alverno student has been named a Newman Civic Fellow; Katherine Watson was selected for the 2017 cohort and Alejandra Gonzalez was chosen for the 2018 cohort.

Lewis-Taylor, a sophomore majoring in Accounting with a minor in Sociology, is a first-generation college student. On campus she serves as the president of the Black Student Alliance; she also volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the Milwaukee Reentry Council, which works to reduce recidivism among a high-risk population upon release from prison. She is a recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Scholarship, which honors a student's excellence in leadership and community service.

“Ms. Lewis-Taylor's passion for justice and social change reflect her belief in humanity's ability to transform, but to do so we must ‘live on purpose,'” said Andrea Lee, IHM, PhD, president of Alverno College. “She exemplifies the purposeful life as a mentor, an advocate, and as someone whose compassion is demonstrated through her willingness to lead conversations on tough topics.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth for students who have demonstrated a capacity for leadership and an investment in solving public problems. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“We are proud to recognize each of these extraordinary student leaders and thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with them,” said Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. “The stories of this year's Newman Civic Fellows make clear that they are committed to finding solutions to pressing problems in their communities and beyond. That is what Campus Compact is about, and it's what our country and our world desperately need.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation. Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship.

About Campus Compact

Campus Compactis a national coalition of 1000+ 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.