North Carolina Campus Compact, in partnership with the national, non-partisan Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP), is sponsoring 2016 Election Engagement Fellows at select schools in our network. Through non-partisan voter engagement activities and collaboration with campus and community partners, Fellows will accomplish two goals:
- Engage, educate, and turnout student voters in 2016
- Assist the campus in creating or enhancing institutional supports for future student election engagement
Support for this program is provided by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation through its Strengthening Democracy initiative.
Background: Higher education institutions in our state have both philosophical and practical obligations to support student electoral participation. Campus Compact members in particular have committed to the idea that colleges and universities “must be vital agents and architects of a flourishing democracy” (Presidents’ Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education, Campus Compact, 2000). The federal Higher Education Act requires most colleges and universities to make a good-faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to every student. And, here in North Carolina, the State Board of Elections has signed agreements with the UNC system and NC Community College System outlining shared commitments to educating students about new voting requirements.
Program Description: The Election Engagement Fellowship (EE Fellows) is available to undergraduate students enrolled at select NC/CC member schools during both spring and fall semesters of 2016. Fellows will serve a minimum of 140 hours over two, 10-week terms. For this commitment, fellows receive voter engagement training and support, access to a voter engagement activities fund, and a $1000 stipend (paid in spring and fall installments) upon completion of required minimum hours and key deliverables.
Student Eligibility: Fellows must be enrolled at a Campus Compact member school in both spring and fall 2016. Applicant’s expected graduation date must be December 2016 or later. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible.
Desired Qualifications:
- Interest in promoting college student voting and democratic participation
- Ability to recruit, energize and organize student volunteers
- Willingness to work with campus officials toward shared goals
- Strong organization and communication skills, including data tracking and reporting, social media, and writing
- Commitment to meeting hours requirements and to non-partisanship
Priority Campuses: We seek eligible candidates to serve as fellows at 12 of the following priority campuses. These campuses were identified because they share one or more of these factors: the campus is not currently expected to host a student voter engagement organizer through one of our partner organizations; the campus serves an under-resourced student population; or the campus has a track record of success in past CEEP initiatives. The 2016 priority campuses are:
- Appalachian State University
- UNC Asheville
- UNC Greensboro
- UNC Pembroke
- UNC Wilmington
- Central Piedmont CC
- Davidson County CC
- Durham Technical CC
- Guilford Technical CC
- Wake Technical CC
- Western Piedmont CC
- Guilford College
- High Point University
- Lenoir-Rhyne University
- Meredith College
- Pfeiffer University
- Queens University of Charlotte
- Warren Wilson College
- Wingate University
To apply: Eligible students should complete and submit:
- Application Form (online)
- Letter of Interest – Your letter should briefly state why you wish to lead election engagement efforts on your campus and what experience, knowledge, skills, or attitudes make you a good fit for this role.
- Letter of Support from a “Campus Ally” – The supporting individual may be a faculty member, student organization adviser, or other campus administrator who is interested in student voter engagement and who is willing to advise you in developing your election engagement efforts, connect you with other resources on campus/in community, and meet with you 2x/term.
- Please upload your letters here or send as .pdf attachments via email to Chad Fogleman, cfogleman2@elon.edu.
- TIP: Submit your application form as soon as possible, then submit your letters (separately or together) as each is completed.
Application Deadline: January 29, 2016
Applicants will be notified by February 5, 2016. Once your application is accepted, you will be asked to sign a Memorandum of Agreement that outlines in greater detail your commitments as an EE Fellow and our commitments to supporting you.
If your campus is not on list of priority campuses but you are interested in campus election engagement work, check out other organizations offering similar campus voter engagement positions:
- CommonCause NC HBCU Democracy Fellows
- Ignite NC Fellows
- Andrew Good Foundation Vote Everywhere Ambassadors
- Democracy NC Democracy Summer Internships
Questions? Please contact Chad Fogleman, Assistant Director, NC Campus Compact, at cfogleman2@elon.edu.