University of Minnesota Rochester Selected for Competitive 2026 Campus Compact Innovation Cohort

The University of Minnesota has been selected among a competitive pool of universities across the U.S. to participate in the 2026 Campus Compact CAP Innovation Cohort. 

Campus Compact is the nation’s oldest and largest association focused on postsecondary civic engagement and university-community collaboration. Their Campus Action Planning (CAP) cohort program supports approximately 20 universities in a strategic planning process to advance their institutional approaches and commitment to civic, community and public impact. The University of Minnesota’s acceptance also comes with a small grant to support this work, including sending participating campus representatives to a strategic planning institute at Metropolitan State University of Denver in mid-August.

UMN Rochester will participate in the Campus Compact CAP initiative alongside other UMN campuses from June 2026 - January 2027. UMN Rochester Assistant Professor and Civic Engagement Scholar, Dr. Elizabeth Dunens, and Vice Provost for Public Engagement Laurie Van Egeren are serving as co-leads for UMN’s participation in the cohort and will support campuses in developing campus engagement action plans in alignment with UMN’s Elevate Extraordinary 2030 civic engagement goals. 

“The timing of our selection for this cohort could not be better for UMN Rochester,” shared Dunens. “UMN Rochester has a strong historic commitment to student civic engagement and even received the prestigious Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2024. But our university, student and community needs are evolving and we need to adapt and innovate for these new realities. Our university is growing, undergraduates face a civic landscape very different from past decades and there are untapped possibilities for our campus to support our Rochester community. Now is the ideal time – with the support of Campus Compact – to strategically revisit how we can best prepare today’s health sciences students as tomorrow’s health and community leaders.”