TCC Student Named 2016 Newman Civic Fellow

Andrea Haddox, a Tulsa Community College student, has been named a 2016 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact. She is one of 218 student leaders recognized from colleges nationwide for finding solutions and taking action to affect long-term social changes.

Haddox is President of the Alpha Zeta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. She is passionate about the social issue of food deserts in the Tulsa community and used PTK’s Honors in Action project as a platform for addressing the issue. Haddox used research on food deserts in the Tulsa community to lead a local campus-based project.

“Andrea coordinated focus groups with TCC students, recruited students for each group and assisted in analyzing the data,” said TCC President & CEO Leigh B. Goodson, Ph.D. “Then, she presented her research project's outcome at TCC's Second Annual Sustainability Conference in February and posed the question of "what's next" in tackling this problem.”

Haddox encouraged students attending the sustainability conference to think creatively about what they could contribute individually and collectively to the cause. Committed to finding solutions to complex social issues, she will launch a follow-up project that focuses on developing models for addressing the food deserts in Tulsa. Haddox expects to graduate in May 2016 with an associate degree in social work.

“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to celebrate such an extraordinary group of students,” said Campus Compact president Andrew Seligsohn. “We are seeing a resurgence in student interest in acting to create lasting social change, and this year’s Newman Civic Fellows exemplify that commitment.”

Campus Compact is a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. The award honors the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders and a tireless advocate for the civic engagement of higher education. The Newman Civic Fellows Award honors undergraduate and graduate students who have taken action in pursuit of long-term social change and who engage and inspire others in their communities.

PHOTO: Andrea Haddox Each will receive a $500 scholarship from Oklahoma Campus Compact, an organization of college and university presidents who have committed to articulating the importance of civic responsibility as an outcome of higher education. She was recognized at the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education meeting in April. Pictured (l to r): Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Chair General Toney Stricklin, Haddox, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, and TCC Northeast Campus Director of Academic and Campus Services Mike Limas.