UBalt Earns Gold as a 2021 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Award Winner
November 16, 2021
Contact: Office of Advancement and External Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore has earned a Gold Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for nonpartisan student voter participation efforts in the 2020 Election. Student voting on its campus increased significantly in last year's presidential election, rising to 72.6 percent in 2020 from a rate of 69.7 percent in 2016, according to a recent report from the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE), creators of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, or NSLVE. IDHE is located at Tufts University's Tisch College of Civic Life. The full campus report can be viewed here.
Civic and democratic engagement are central to the mission of higher education and the values of The University of Baltimore. While these types of engagement embody a wide variety of activities, participation in local, state, and federal elections is a real and tangible way for our students, staff and faculty to affect our community. The Rosenberg Center for Student Engagement and Inclusion is committed to ensuring that the UBalt community always has access to resources and information to be fully prepared to take part in the democratic process. The University also earned ALL IN Challenge Gold recognition in the previous presidential election.
The 2020 presidential election engaged the largest and most diverse group of college students in U.S. history. The University of Baltimore's Gold Seal is given to institutions with voter participation levels ranging from 70 to 80 percent. More than 840 institutions enrolling close to 9 million students participate in the ALL IN Challenge.
"The rise in voter participation and engagement for college students in last year's presidential election amidst a global pandemic was tremendous and will undoubtedly be tied to the tireless efforts of the dedicated students, faculty, administrators, and partner organizations that are part of the ALL IN Challenge network," said Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. "The hard work of these trailblazing honorees will help support many of the country's future leaders in fulfilling the equitable, engaged vision of democracy to which we aspire."
"To learn that our community's involvement actually increased in this past election—that's incredibly encouraging," said Kurt L. Schmoke, president of The University of Baltimore. "The resilience, the determination to see through the democratic process in tough times, these actions speak loudly about who we are and what we value. I'm proud of all of us at the University for persevering."
Learn more about the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and view the full list of winning campuses.