Wartburg College professor Dr. Fred Waldstein has been honored by Iowa Campus Compact, an Iowa higher education group devoted to community engagement.
Waldstein, a professor of political science, was given an Anniversary Award from Iowa Campus Compact, which is celebrating its 10th year as a group of colleges and universities promoting civic engagement and service-learning.
Iowa Campus Compact cited Waldstein’s role as chair of both the Iowa Commission on National and Community Service and the American Association of State Service Commissions, which he helped found, and for being actively engaged in leadership development and promoting service and volunteerism.
Waldstein founded and directs Wartburg’s Institute for Leadership Education, which includes the college’s leadership education minor; the High School Leadership Institute that mentors rising seniors; and Community Builders, an intergenerational program bringing together Wartburg and Waverly-Shell Rock students and area residents to discuss civic issues.
Dr. Dan Kittle, director of Wartburg’s Center for Community Engagement, nominated Waldstein.
“In the 1980s he was tasked with creating an academic program in leadership to prepare young people for lives of leadership and service,” Kittle stated. “The academic program he created, now one of the largest minors on campus, is a laboratory for student learning and exploration in civic engagement rooted in research and theory, while boldly calling upon students to apply their knowledge and skills in ways that build community.”
Waldstein, a 1974 Wartburg graduate, also holds the Irving R. Burling Chair in Leadership.