Seeking Nominations: 2025 Newman Civic Fellowship

The Center for Social Impact, on behalf of President Mark R. Nemec, is seeking nominations for the 2025-2026 Newman Civic Fellowship, a national award through Campus Compact, a coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education.

The Fellowship is a one-year experience that provides students with training and resources that nurture their assets and passions and help them develop strategies for social change.  Fellows are nominated by their president or chancellor on the basis of their potential for public leadership.  Through the Fellowship, Campus Compact provides in-person and virtual learning opportunities focused on the skills needed to serve as effective agents of change in addressing public problems and building equitable communities.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is intended to honor the leadership legacy of Campus Compact founder Frank Newman by recognizing community-committed students who

• Engage in collaborative action with others from campus or surrounding communities in order to create long-term social change
• Take action in addressing issues of inequality and political polarization
• Demonstrate the motivation and potential for effective long-term civic engagement

Fellows are expected to:

• Participate in the professional development opportunities provided by Campus Compact
• Propose, plan and execute a social impact project, grounded in the applicant’s academic interests and in consultation with a faculty or staff mentor, and that engages the University community and/or partner communities, for which the Center for Social Impact will provide $500 in funding support
• Provide regular updates to Campus Compact and the Center for Social Impact on the status of the project
• Present on the project and outcomes at the Fairfield University Student Research Symposium in April 2026
• Submit a 1,000 word reflection and summary of project activities to the Center for Social Impact by May 1, 2026

Nominees must have at least one year left in their program of study in order to be considered, so members of the classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028 are eligible. The current 2024-2025 Newman Fellow is Tripp Lyons ’25 and previous fellows have included Jaqueline Campbell ’24, Vincent Rotondo ’23, and Eden Marchese ’23.

To nominate a student, please fill out THIS BRIEF NOMINATION FORM. Nominees will then be invited to apply and submit a proposal for their social impact project. Please submit your nominations no later than Monday, December 11^th, 2024.

Review Process:  A faculty-staff review committee will recommend two or three finalists to President Nemec.  Finalists will meet with President Nemec to present their social impact project proposal. President Nemec will select Fairfield University’s Newman Civic Fellow and submit the official nomination to Campus Compact.