HECUA’s vision of an active citizenship, able to effectively navigate transnational issues is being realized in new and exciting ways. The success in HECUA stems from the vision and input of many – board, staff, students, alumni, campus leaders and community organizations. It is this evolving work that inspires and makes HECUA an ever better organization.

Like new member, Williams College of Williamstown, MA, organizations across the country are seeking connections with HECUA as they search for tools and vehicles to meet their education goals. They also are searching for ways to activate their civic missions and demonstrate the public purpose of higher education. Our greatest strength is in creating and providing exceptional student programs. We are focused on current issues that capture student interests and address curricular needs, such as the environment, globalization and peace and justice.

Listening to our members and partners has helped us reach successful outcomes as we expand. HECUA has a unique capacity to convene, to experiment and to take risks. This is how we learn and how we effect change, together. HECUA is your resource. Just as when HECUA was first formed 30 years ago, there are things that work better in collaboration than alone – there is expertise to be developed, nurtured and shared through our work.

During our last comprehensive planning process, the membership voiced widespread support for maintaining HECUA programs as a collaborative effort. Fueling this recommitment were observations around the confluence of campus needs in the areas of multicultural education, service learning and preparation for citizenship. HECUA has the capacity to deliver high quality academic programs that emphasize these dimensions.

Today, with a backdrop of demonstrated success, there are growing demands from the membership and an emerging conversation that calls for institutions to reclaim their civic mission. We see the potential for HECUA to make an even greater contribution to its members and to further establish this region’s reputation for leadership in higher education. This report demonstrates the ways in which HECUA is advancing this vision.