UW-Parkside Student Honored as Newman Civic Fellow

Published: May 1, 2024

Alejandro Solis recognized for commitment to solving public problems

Kenosha, Wis. - May 1, 2024 - Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has named the student civic leaders from 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico who will make up the 2024-2025 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Alejandro Solis, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, was named as a member of the cohort.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a yearlong program that recognizes students who stand out for their leadership potential and commitment to creating positive change in communities. 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, each fellow is nominated by their campus president or chancellor, who is invited to select one exemplary community-committed student from their campus each year.

Alejandro Solis, a Criminal Justice major at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, is an exceptional student leader who is committed to positive social change both on and off campus. Through his leadership as president of the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, Alejandro has led efforts to educate his peers on the topics of housing inequality and discrimination. He has invited community leaders to campus to speak with students and he has recruited fellow students to participate in community events, such as volunteering at Habitat for Humanity home builds and marching in the Kenosha hunger and homelessness awareness walk.

In addition to his leadership with the campus Habitat chapter, Alejandro also serves on the Board of Habitat for Humanity of Kenosha. His passion for community issues can also be seen in his work to address food insecurity. He has organized food drives for the local food pantry and assisted with the Ranger 2 Ranger food drive that collected food for fellow students and raised awareness of food insecurity on campus. Alejandro's dedication to addressing the issues of food and housing insecurity is inspirational.

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides these students with learning and networking opportunities that help to nurture their development as civic leaders. Programming emphasizes personal, professional, and civic growth that can empower them to collaborate effectively across disciplines and create large-scale positive change.

The cornerstone of the fellowship is the Annual Convening of Newman Civic Fellows, which offers intensive in-person skill-building and networking over three days. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive opportunities, including mini-grants to help fund community projects, scholarships, and post-graduate opportunities.

Chancellor Lynn Akey commends Solis and his commitment to providing help and support to his peers. "Alejandro is an excellent student leader both on and off campus. He enthusiastically embraces the goal of helping, supporting and informing other students on many important issues including housing inequality and discrimination. He is an active volunteer in the community and helps fight food insecurity on campus by organizing food drives that both collect donations for students and raise awareness of food insecurity on campus," Chancellor Akey states.

"We are honored to recognize such an outstanding group of community-committed students," said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. "One of the best parts of the Newman Civic Fellowships is the richness of students' perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds-and how these varied stories all led to their passionate engagement with the social, political, and environmental issues impacting our world. These students will be the catalysts for change on many levels, and we are privileged to help empower them to create that change."

The Newman Civic Fellowship is generously supported by The Allstate 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 at compact.org/current-programs/newman-civic-fellowship/newman-civic-fellows.

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.

Media Contacts:
Molly Leiper
Director of Communications
Campus Compact
[email protected]