Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world. Fellows are nominated by Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors, who are invited to select one outstanding student from their campus each year.

G’everdloaahn is an Act Six Scholar with a double major in psychology and critical race and ethnicity studies and a minor in statistics. Outside of class, he is an active member of the Augsburg community, serving as the founder and president of the Poetry and Meaningful Writing Club, a residence life community advisor, chair of operations for Act Six at Augsburg, and a Bonner Community Leader. He has performed several spoken word pieces at major university functions, including the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation and Afrikan Night.

“Growing up in North Minneapolis, I’ve witnessed and experienced various community issues like police brutality, inadequate mental health resources, gang violence, addiction, and much more,” said G’everdloaahn. “Despite hoping for improvement time and time again, conditions have persisted, birthed in the fabric of American society for centuries. If there is one thing that Critical Race has taught me since I first began my study, it’s that these systems have been meticulously and oppressively constructed, and will require equal effort to dismantle. However, waiting passively for change isn’t an option … I aim to develop and enforce this change and be the hope I have always wanted to see.”

Campus Compact provides Newman Fellows with a year of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth. Each year, fellows participate in numerous virtual training and networking opportunities to help provide them with the skills and connections they need to create large-scale positive change. The cornerstone of the fellowship is the Annual Convening of Fellows, which offers intensive in-person skill-building and networking over the course of two days. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“Lee’RayVone brings the fullness of his experiences and curiosity to campus and the classroom,” wrote President Paul C. Pribbenow in his nomination letter. “A thoughtful and forthright student, he enriches Augsburg’s community of learners, teachers, and anyone else lucky enough to get the opportunity to spend some time with him.”

“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.”

“I envision a world in which nobody has to ever “hope” for change to happen ever again, and I will make it a reality,” said G’everdloaahn.

Learn more about the and about on Campus Compact’s website.

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Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Campus Compact announced the HUD + Higher Ed Engagement Network, a new collaboration to strengthen higher education community action. Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow was one of three college presidents named to a 30-member Think Tank of strategic leaders that will guide network activities.��

“Augsburg has long been engaged in vital place-making work with our neighbors, our students, and our employees,” said Pribbenow, who chairs the in Minneapolis. “It’s an honor to be able to share what we’ve learned about mutually sustaining partnerships in an urban setting where we have deep institutional roots.”

The Think Tank will collaborate with HUD leaders to develop and disseminate strategies for campuses to engage with HUD field offices and initiatives nationwide. Member institutions will put these plans into action at the local level, with the goal of building inclusive, sustainable, and thriving communities through increased civic and community engagement. Focus areas will include worker empowerment, maternal and infant health, eviction prevention, landlord outreach, housing security and access, broadband access and digital literacy, and cultural competency.��

“We are thrilled to partner with Campus Compact on this initiative,” said Michele Perez, HUD’s Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management, in . “This partnership will bolster HUD’s and the members of the Higher Ed Engagement Network’s ability to serve our most vulnerable populations through the higher education space. Together, we will leverage our strong connections in our respective industries to enable a just, equitable, and sustainable future.”

The HUD + Higher Engagement Network will be led by Campus Compact in partnership with the University Economic Development Association and two organizations with which Augsburg and President Pribbenow have been closely involved: the and the .��

Engaging as an anchor institution in Cedar-Riverside and at Augsburg sites around the world is a key strategy articulated in Augsburg150: The Sesquicentennial Plan.

Read more about Augsburg’s anchor institution commitments:

• “”—Star Tribune commentary by Paul Pribbenow and James Hereford (September 2021)
• “” by Jay Walljasper (PDF)

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Following inflammatory statements made by high-profile politicians and presidential candidates about the Muslim community, the Augsburg College faculty passed a resolution declaring their “deep support, love and friendship for the Muslim members of our campus, community and world.” The Campus Compact article states that, “Faculty and staff at the college make this commitment real through myriad practices and partnerships.”

Included in those partnerships is the work that the College has done with Sisterhood Boutique, a “second-hand clothing store and youth social entrepreneurship program developed by young women, a majority East African and Muslim, living in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis.” Augsburg faculty members — such as Assistant Professor of Business Marc Isaacson — have engaged their students in projects to support the boutique.

Read: In Word and Deed: Augsburg College in Support of Muslim Students, Colleagues, Neighbors on the Campus Compact site.

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Campus Compact has honored 162 students from 32 states as 2012 Newman Civic Fellows. Among the honorees is Angela Bonfiglio of Augsburg College. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have worked to find solutions for challenges facing their communities.

Boston, MA – Campus Compact’s member college and university presidents from across the country have nominated 162 college student leaders for the 2012 class of Newman Civic Fellows. These students are demonstrating a personal commitment to creating lasting change for the better in their communities. Through service, community-based research, and advocacy, the 2012 class of Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves and the root causes of some of the most pressing social issues that challenge us all.

Angela Bonfiglio ’13…demonstrates the type of civic engagement that sets an example for others, shining a positive light in a time when negativity has dominated much national conversation. Bonfiglio, a junior at Augsburg, works in many ways to create a more just society. Angela rebuilt the campus service organization, doubling its membership while deepening issue-based work. In North Minneapolis, Angela is researching community perceptions on the achievement gap and working to close that gap. She coordinates an afterschool program at Redeemer Lutheran Church to ensure that youth have dependable adults, homework help, and dinner. Angela is dedicated to social justice, including environmental work, youth development, interfaith work, and racial equality.

As a Newman Civic Fellow, Bonfiglio will join a network of Fellows around the country. Together—sharing ideas and tools through online networking—the Fellows will leverage an even greater capacity for service and change, and will continue to set examples for their classmates and others.

“These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world,” notes Campus Compact Board Chair James B. Dworkin, chancellor at Purdue University North Central.

Through service-learning courses and other opportunities for community engagement, colleges are developing students’ public problem-solving skills, such as the ability to analyze community needs, the willingness to participate in public processes and debate, the commitment to raise awareness about challenges, and the ability to inspire others to become part of solutions.

“Dr. Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact, had a tremendous impact on American education and its role in the development of citizens who are eager and prepared to make a difference,” explains Campus Compact President Maureen Curley. “He dedicated his life to creating systemic change through education reform and this new group of Newman Civic Fellows would have inspired him. They are reflections and affirmations of his life’s work.”

Campus Compact is a national coalition of almost 1,200 college and university presidents—representing some 6 million+ students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education, that is, to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. For more information about the organization and the award, visit

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The Newman Civic Fellow Award recognizes students on college campuses who are doing civic engagement work and trying to better their community through service.

Bergren has been involved with the Bonner program for the last three years, working with organizations including Project Footsteps and the Redeemer Center for Life.

As a sophomore, Bergren and two other Bonner Leaders spearheaded an initiative to gather information on people and organizations that could share their assets or resources with young people. “The idea was that no young person should be left behind with all the resources we have,” Bergren says.

She met with people in neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis. “I learned that everyone has something to offer, whether it’s guitar lessons or food or transportation.”

This project guided Bergren in her second Bonner placement with Redeemer Center for Life in the Harrison neighborhood of North Minneapolis. She did asset mapping, talking with people about the assets they viewed as valuable in their community. Her report included economic development on Glenwood Avenue, positive youth hangouts and gathering spots, and childhood or educational services. “I think we helped to dispel some of the misconceptions about neighborhoods and show people that there was value in their neighborhood,” she says.

For the last semester, Bergren has been working at Hope Community on Franklin Avenue as the program coordinator for a Saturday morning tutoring and mentoring program called Learning in Communities.

This summer she will return to the Harrison neighborhood to create and implement a youth leadership program. The plan is to gather 15-20 young people and meet with them weekly to help them gain leadership skills.

“We want to do that in unconventional ways,” Bergren says, “like through going to theatre or creating theatre.” She hopes that she can help young people find ways to change or fix issues using events that have happened in their neighborhood that have perpetuated the cycle of oppression or reinforced stereotypes.

“We want to make a program that they can really invest in and by the end be empowered to find a leadership role in their neighborhood or create some kind of social change project,” she adds.

Bergren will have to leave the Harrison project for a short time in June in order to travel to Norway and participate in the Nobel Peace Scholar program. In addition to her involvement as a Bonner Leader and a Peace Scholar, Bergren is also a Sabo Scholar, a volunteer at Cedar Cultural Center, and a student in the Augsburg Honors program.

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