William Peace University has joined North Carolina Campus Compact, signaling its commitment to the “public purposes” of higher education.
Located in downtown Raleigh, William Peace University (WPU) enrolls over 1,000 full-time and continuing education students and is nationally recognized for its internship placement rate and its success graduating low-income, minority students.
WPU becomes the fourth school to join NC Campus Compact network this year, along with Wingate University, Winston-Salem State University, and Guilford Technical Community College. The statewide Compact now includes 36 public, private, and community colleges and universities.
As a member institution, WPU can access resources and professional development for faculty, staff, and students who are leading civic and community engagement programs. Such programs develop student citizenship and build strong communities through practices like academic service-learning, community-based research, student volunteerism, and campus-community partnerships.
William Peace University is led by President Brian C. Ralph, who was selected at the school’s 11th president in July 2015, after serving as a vice president at Queens University of Charlotte for more than 10 years.
North Carolina Campus Compact is one of 34 state and regional affiliates of the national Campus Compact network, headquartered in Boston and comprised of more than 1,000 schools. The national group was founded in 1985 by the presidents of Brown, Georgetown, and Stanford universities and the president of the Education Commission of the States. The founding leaders sought to “challenge higher education to re-examine its public purposes and its commitments to the democratic ideal.”
Campus Compact is a “presidential membership organization” in which a school’s president or chancellor joins on behalf of the campus; and all faculty, staff, and students can take advantage of network resources and events. Schools renew their membership annually.
Each year more than 500 individuals participate in North Carolina Campus Compact events and trainings, and nearly 2,000 subscribers access the group’s monthly e-newsletters and its online, peer-reviewed journal, Partnerships. To support engagement at member campuses, the organization manages a faculty fellows program, a campus election engagement initiative, and an AmeriCorps VISTA program. The North Carolina office is hosted by Elon University.
Peace College was a member of the North Carolina Campus Compact from the network’s founding in 2002 through 2011. In 2011, Peace College became William Peace University and fully transitioned to a co-educational program.