STANDISH – On April 28, Maine Campus Compact celebrated its 22nd Annual Awards Ceremony at the University of Maine at Augusta to recognize outstanding work in public service and civic engagement by Maine faculty, students, and community and corporate partners. Our award recipients’ positive impacts on campuses and in communities throughout the state reinforce the importance of the public purposes of higher education.
The Corporate Partner of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding corporate partner and its staff for their exemplary partnership with an MCC member institution. Through robust partnerships with Maine Campus Compact member institutions, the corporate partner exhibits expertise and provides resources in support of community-engaged learning that helps to educate and empower students in real-world problem solving.
The 2023 award recipient is Rustic Roots Farm in Partnership with the University of Maine at Farmington.
Rustic Roots Farm’s support of UMF students to learn first-hand about sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, and community service has made it an outstanding corporate partner. As a small-scale farming operation in Farmington, Rustic Roots and its principals, Erica Emery and Dave Allen, have enriched the traditional student experience by providing hands-on, experiential learning opportunities on a regular basis. Rustic Roots has opened its fields and greenhouses and made available the accumulated wisdom and experience of its staff members, to help students expand their understanding of how campus and community members can work together to address challenges in a real-world setting. In many ways, Rustic Roots Farm serves as an extended UMF field-based learning laboratory.
Erica Emery added, “We are always excited share what we are doing at the farm with students and public to continue to grow a community of local food eaters and advocates!”
About Maine Campus Compact: Established in 1994, Maine Campus Compact is a coalition of 16 member campuses whose purpose is to catalyze and lead a movement to reinvigorate the public purposes and civic mission of higher education. We seek to transform our campuses in ways that develop better informed, active citizen problem-solvers, stronger communities, and a more just democratic society. We believe that our campuses must be vital agents and architects of a flourishing democracy.
