Greensboro College's Robert Brewer Recognized by North Carolina Campus Engagement for Civic Engagement

by Matthew Johnson

Greensboro, NC (02/20/2024) — North Carolina Campus Engagement has honored Greensboro College Chaplain and Professor of Religion, Rev. Dr. Robert Brewer, as the 2024 Civic Engagement Professional of the Year Award. The award recognizes a higher education administrator in the state who works to realize a campus-wide vision of service, supports the engagement of faculty and students, and forms innovative campus-community partnerships.

Since he arrived in 2005, Robert Brewer has been the driving force behind Greensboro College's Village 401, a community service initiative to link students, faculty and staff with people and organizations in the 27401 zip code. Programs he has helped create over the years include the Village 401 Community Partner Day; an Earth Day Celebration; Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week; and the Gate City Soup Bowl. Brewer has been especially instrumental in helping Greensboro College sustain their three longest running events: 1) Project Leap, an Easter Party, 2) Neewollah, a Halloween event, and 3) Angel Tree, a Christmas event which annually bring children from the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club to campus for games and activities, goodies, or gifts.

For Angel Tree, Brewer helps decorate the Christmas Trees and place them around campus with the names of the children eligible for sponsorship. Since 2005, he has helped maintain Greensboro College's ongoing partnership with Bennett College to host MLK Day of Service celebrations and service projects. Between 2008 and 2011, he helped manage an MLK Day of Service grant from NC Campus Engagement, which mobilized over 500 students, from both institutions, to engage in service projects throughout the city.

Over a decade ago, Brewer took the lead in helping Greensboro College address student food insecurity. This included establishing a partnership with UNC Greensboro's Spartan Open Pantry (hosted by the Wesley-Luther ministry). In 2012, Brewer helped start the Community Garden on campus which supplied fresh food for Greensboro Urban Ministry and then the Spartan Open Pantry. He and his band, Dr. Brewer and the Disappointments, have performed an annual benefit concert to raise funds for the Pantry. In 2022, he secured a grant from the United Methodist Church to purchase three food lockers to place throughout the Greensboro College campus so that students would have access to non-perishable food items on campus.

In 2023, Greensboro College joined the NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge, a partnership between NC Campus Engagement and Food Lion grocery stores. Participating campuses select Student Hunger

Ambassadors and a faculty or staff mentor helps them plan and implement activities to build awareness around student food insecurity and to host food drives to support campus-based food pantries. Dr. Brewer served as the mentor to Greensboro College's two Hunger Ambassadors. Thirteen campuses across North Carolina participated, with Greensboro College being the smallest participating institution. Greensboro College won the $10,000 grant prize which they will use to support their existing food lockers and community garden as well as the development of a walk-in pantry on campus.

During his tenure, Brewer has supported faculty in developing and teaching service-learning courses, organized student retreats focused on leadership and justice, mentored the students who facilitate the annual Relay for Life Event on Campus, and led Greensboro College's Alternative Service Break Trips, including several annual trips to New Orleans to engage in disaster relief projects post-Hurricane Katrina. He has also designed and implemented a skills and vocation class that includes leadership and service-learning opportunities in students' first-year experiences. Multiple students from this class have become leaders on campus and played important roles in the college's engagement with the community. In 2022 he used an Election Engagement grant from NC Campus Engagement to convene the campus to form "GC Votes" and to plan events such as "GC Pride to the Polls" in which campus members walked to the Greensboro Courthouse to vote.

While supporting community engagement for nearly two decades, Brewer has continued his primary role as the campus Chaplain including hosting an ecumenical gathering every Thursday for the campus and community, overseeing internships for students at Greensboro College, UNC Greensboro, and Wake Forest University, starting and raising funds for the Student Emergency Fund for students in need, and teaching within the Religion Department.

Brewer received his BA from Appalachian State University, his Master of Divinity from Emory University, and his Doctor of Theology from the University of Toronto.

North Carolina Campus Engagement recognized Brewer during its annual Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement (PACE) conference hosted at Guilford College on February 14.

Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Founded in 1838 and located in downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,000 students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia, and seven foreign countries in its undergraduate liberal arts program and six master's degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features a 17-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities. Learn more at greensboro.edu.

Think critically. Act justly. Live faithfully.

North Carolina Campus Engagement is a collaborative network of 39 colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partnering with communities for positive change, and strengthening democracy. Learn more at www.nccampusengagement.org

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