National and state leaders from the National Corporation of Service and other government programs will join college and university presidents, staff and students from across New York state Oct. 16 to officially launch the New York Campus Compact (NYCC). With the establishment of the NYCC, New York is joining over 25 other state compacts in establishing an organization of colleges and universities committed to promoting active citizenship as an aim of higher education among member institutions.

The ceremony for the official launch of NYCC begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, New York City.

New York state's higher education system comprises 263 institutions of higher education, giving NYCC the potential to be the largest state compact in the nation. Said NYCC co-chair Christopher C. Dahl, president of the State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo: "Our executive committee as been heartened by the enthusiasm that has greeted this announcement. At the current time, the need for an organization in New York state promoting active citizenship cannot be understated, and we are looking forward to taking a national leadership role in advancing the public purposes of higher education."

The event will highlight the role NYCC will play in providing statewide leadership in advocating for, supporting and increasing student involvement in academic and co-curricular-based public service. Through grants, workshops, conferences and courses, member institutions strengthen the country's democratic society. In turn, member institutions agree to enhance student learning through service and develop in students the knowledge, values, skills and habits of civic responsibility and democratic participation.

Speakers at the Oct. 16 event will include Elizabeth L. Hollander, executive director of Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 750 college and university presidents, who will discuss the role National Campus Compact will play in supporting NYCC. Edward Zlotkowski, professor of English at Bentley College, senior faculty fellow at the National Campus Compact, and senior associate at the American Association for Higher Education, will talk about how federal funding and projects from Campus Compact have been able to develop in other state compacts. Kenneth Reardon, associate professor of urban and regional planning at Cornell University, will highlight several campuses that represent active citizenship in New York state, and he will discuss the role NYCC can play in supporting and promoting these initiatives along with the need to provide funding and technical assistance to institutions that are developing service-learning and community-service programs.

For more information, contact Robert A. Bonfiglio, vice president for student and campus life, SUNY Geneseo, (716) 245-5618, bonfig@geneseo.edu ; or, at Cornell University, Leonardo Vargas-Méndez, executive director, Cornell Public Service Center, (607) 255-0674, ljv1@cornell.edu .