Millennium Campus Network
Encyclopedia
The Millennium Campus Network (MCN) is an organization of university student groups committed to supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) to eradicate extreme poverty. The MCN brings together student organizations at leading universities to make the anti-poverty movement a fully cross-disciplinary, collaborative and integrated effort. Millennium Campus Network, Inc. was founded in 2007 by Brandeis University
students Sam Vaghar and Seth Werfel.
, Chicago
, New York City
, and Washington, D.C.
. As of May 2010, the MCN includes 57 member organizations from 23 campuses:
Boston
Chicago
New York
Washington, DC
The MCN National and District Teams manage national and grassroots operations, respectively. Executive Director Sam Vaghar and Managing Director Jacob Geller are full-time staff, and over 25 part-time staff and volunteers work to ensure the MCN's success.
The long-term growth and vision of the MCN is influenced by a national Board of Advisors, which includes the following individuals:
The MCN has been supported by the following partners and sponsors:
The inaugural Millennium Campus Conference was hosted by the Global Poverty Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
from April 18-20, 2008.
The second Millennium Campus Conference was held at Columbia University
from September 17-19, 2010.
Each MCC brings together more than 1,000 students from across the country and around the globe over three days to discuss, debate, and become engaged in issues of sustainable international development. Notable speakers have included MCN Advisors Dr. Paul Farmer
of Partners in Health
, Professor Jeffrey Sachs
, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
, John Legend
, 6-time Grammy Award-winner and founder of the Show Me Campaign, Professor Paul Romer
of Stanford University
, Professor Amy Smith
of the International Development Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
as well as Ira Magaziner
of Clinton Global Initiative, Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga
of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, Ms. Henrietta Fore, Administrator of USAID and Director of United States Foreign Assistance, John Wood
of Room to Read
, Scott Harrison
of charity: water, and over 100 other experts. The Millennium Campus Conference 2008 also included the Millennium Campus Concert featuring Braddigan, the former lead singer of the band Dispatch
, which raised money for AIDS treatment in Zimbabwe. The 2008 conference also featured the Millennium Action Challenge, which gave students an opportunity to showcase their ideas about creating sustainable fresh water systems in developing countries.
Millennium Campus Conference 2011 took place September 16-18, 2011 at Harvard University, and was planned and coordinated by five core host organizations on campus. More information including speakers and content can be found online at http://www.mcc2011.com.
Millennium Campus Conference 2012 will take place in the fall of 2012. More details and registration information will be made available during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
(MDGs) to eradicate extreme poverty. The MCN brings together student organizations at leading universities to make the anti-poverty movement a fully cross-disciplinary, collaborative and integrated effort. Millennium Campus Network, Inc. was founded in 2007 by Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
students Sam Vaghar and Seth Werfel.
Services
The Millennium Campus Network holds regular general assembly meetings, offers consulting services to all of its member organizations, provides Student Action Grants for innovative student-led projects relating to sustainable international development, maintains an interactive website with online networking resources, and organizes the annual Millennium Campus Conference. In April 2010, the MCN launched Commit in September, a national advocacy campaign to make global development a priority at the upcoming UN General Assembly Meeting, which is sponsored by the Millennium Campaign.Member Organizations
The Millennium Campus Network currently operates in four regional districts located in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. As of May 2010, the MCN includes 57 member organizations from 23 campuses:
Boston
- Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
- Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
- Curry CollegeCurry CollegeCurry College is a private liberal arts-based institution in Milton, Massachusetts that started as the School of Elocution in 1879.-History:...
- Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
- Tufts UniversityTufts UniversityTufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
- Northeastern University
- Boston UniversityBoston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
Chicago
- Loyola University of Chicago
- University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
- University of Illinois at ChicagoUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoThe University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
- DePaul UniversityDePaul UniversityDePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
- Illinois Institute of TechnologyIllinois Institute of TechnologyIllinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
- St. Xavier UniversitySt. Xavier UniversitySaint Xavier University is a four-year, coeducational institution of higher learning located in the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois.- History :...
New York
- Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
- Fordham UniversityFordham UniversityFordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
- New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
- Stevens Institute of TechnologyStevens Institute of TechnologyStevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
- Wagner CollegeWagner CollegeWagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
- Marymount Manhattan CollegeMarymount Manhattan CollegeMarymount Manhattan College is an urban, coeducational, independent, private, liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York with a focus in performing arts. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual...
- University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
Washington, DC
- American UniversityAmerican UniversityAmerican University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
- George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
- Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
Staff and Partners
The MCN Board of Directors consists of nine leaders from a variety of disciplines related to global development, campus organizing, and higher education.The MCN National and District Teams manage national and grassroots operations, respectively. Executive Director Sam Vaghar and Managing Director Jacob Geller are full-time staff, and over 25 part-time staff and volunteers work to ensure the MCN's success.
The long-term growth and vision of the MCN is influenced by a national Board of Advisors, which includes the following individuals:
- Jeffrey SachsJeffrey SachsJeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. One of the youngest economics professors in the history of Harvard University, Sachs became known for his role as an adviser to Eastern European and developing country governments in the...
- Paul FarmerPaul FarmerDr. Paul Edward Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician. He is currently the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University, formerly the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician and Chief...
- John LegendJohn LegendJohn Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
- John W. McArthur
- Augustine P. MahigaAugustine P. MahigaAugustine Philip Mahiga is a Tanzanian diplomat. He is the current United Nations Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.-Biography:...
- Paul RomerPaul RomerPaul Michael Romer is an American economist, entrepreneur, and activist. He is currently the Henry Kaufman Visiting Professor at New York University Stern School of Business and will be joining NYU as a full time professor beginning in 2011...
- Anita Sharma
- Amy B. SmithAmy B. SmithAmy Smith is an American inventor, educator, and founder of at . She works to develop technologies and build creative capacity internationally.-Early life and education:...
- Bobby BaileyInvisible ChildrenInvisible Children: Rough Cut is a 2003 American documentary film. Its subject is the abduction and forced enlistment of children by the sectarian Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.-Synopsis:...
The MCN has been supported by the following partners and sponsors:
- Better World Campaign
- Jenzabar
- Jenzabar Foundation
- HP
- Millennium PromiseMillennium PromiseMillennium Promise, or The Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, dedicated to ending extreme poverty within our lifetime...
- MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
- Semester at Sea
- United Nations FoundationUnited Nations FoundationThe United Nations Foundation started up in 1998 with a $1 billion grant from Ted Turner in order to support the United Nations in executing its programs worldwide. The creation of the Foundation was intended to encourage other donors to also support the UN in its activities...
- United Nations Millennium Campaign
Millennium Campus Conference
The MCN hosts the Millennium Campus Conference annually to bring together students and educators around the issues of sustainable development and extreme poverty. The event features prominent speakers, as well as workshops and networking sessions designed to help students learn about the issues surrounding the UN Millennium Development Goals.The inaugural Millennium Campus Conference was hosted by the Global Poverty Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
from April 18-20, 2008.
The second Millennium Campus Conference was held at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
from September 17-19, 2010.
Each MCC brings together more than 1,000 students from across the country and around the globe over three days to discuss, debate, and become engaged in issues of sustainable international development. Notable speakers have included MCN Advisors Dr. Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician. He is currently the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University, formerly the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician and Chief...
of Partners in Health
Partners In Health
Partners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
, Professor Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. One of the youngest economics professors in the history of Harvard University, Sachs became known for his role as an adviser to Eastern European and developing country governments in the...
, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
, John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, 6-time Grammy Award-winner and founder of the Show Me Campaign, Professor Paul Romer
Paul Romer
Paul Michael Romer is an American economist, entrepreneur, and activist. He is currently the Henry Kaufman Visiting Professor at New York University Stern School of Business and will be joining NYU as a full time professor beginning in 2011...
of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Professor Amy Smith
Amy B. Smith
Amy Smith is an American inventor, educator, and founder of at . She works to develop technologies and build creative capacity internationally.-Early life and education:...
of the International Development Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
as well as Ira Magaziner
Ira Magaziner
Ira Magaziner was born in New York City, New York, USA. After being a student activist and business consultant, Magaziner became the senior advisor for policy development for President Clinton, especially as chief healthcare policy advisor. He now serves as chairman of the William J...
of Clinton Global Initiative, Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga
Augustine P. Mahiga
Augustine Philip Mahiga is a Tanzanian diplomat. He is the current United Nations Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.-Biography:...
of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, Ms. Henrietta Fore, Administrator of USAID and Director of United States Foreign Assistance, John Wood
John Wood (Room to Read)
John J. Wood is the founder and board co-chair of Room to Read, a global nonprofit organization focused on literacy and gender equality in education in Asia and Africa...
of Room to Read
Room to Read
Room to Read is an international non-profit organization with its global headquarters in San Francisco, California. Founded on the belief that World Change Starts With Educated Children, the organization focuses on literacy and gender equality in education...
, Scott Harrison
Scott Harrison (charity founder)
Scott Harrison is an American photographer, photojournalist, entrepreneur and founder and president of the non-profit charity: water.-Early life:...
of charity: water, and over 100 other experts. The Millennium Campus Conference 2008 also included the Millennium Campus Concert featuring Braddigan, the former lead singer of the band Dispatch
Dispatch (band)
Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....
, which raised money for AIDS treatment in Zimbabwe. The 2008 conference also featured the Millennium Action Challenge, which gave students an opportunity to showcase their ideas about creating sustainable fresh water systems in developing countries.
Millennium Campus Conference 2011 took place September 16-18, 2011 at Harvard University, and was planned and coordinated by five core host organizations on campus. More information including speakers and content can be found online at http://www.mcc2011.com.
Millennium Campus Conference 2012 will take place in the fall of 2012. More details and registration information will be made available during the 2011-2012 academic year.