by Xypher Pino

During the 2024 Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement (PACE) Conference on Feb. 14 at Guilford College, Dr. Robert Brewer, GC’s Campus Chaplin, was named the 2024 Civic Engagement Professional of the Year – a prestigious honor awarded by NC Campus Engagement to an administrator who has proven to have extreme dedication in assisting with the institutionalization of service and inspiring faculty and students to engage in acts of service. 

Brewer has made numerous monumental contributions to Greensboro College ever since he assumed the role of Campus Chaplin in 2005, and he truly embodies what the award is all about.  He goes above and beyond in order to truly create a campus that is dedicated to service and giving back to others. Dean Shana Plasters even remarked that Brewer is always “carrying out and doing the work of three full-time staff members.” 

Brewer is directly responsible for all service activities managed by Village 401, GC’s top volunteer service organization. Through his leadership, Village 401 has been able to engage in multiple initiatives such as Earth Day celebrations and Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The organization has also been able to create their own projects such as the Village 401 Community Partner Day, the Gate City Soup Bowl Drive and Relay for Life. 

The most notable Village 401 events that Brewer has managed and overseen have been Project Leap, which is an Easter celebration party, Neewollah, a Halloween event hosted for young children and Angel Tree, a Christmas event that brings children from the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club to campus for various activities and gift-giving. These three events are three of the longest-running events at GC, and this would not have been possible had it not been for the work of Brewer. 

On top of his work with Village 401, Brewer has also engaged in other areas of civic services. He started up GC Votes and leads events such as GC Pride to the Polls, pushing the importance of voting and democracy on campus. He is also responsible for founding the Pride Pantry, GC’s free food resource for all students, in order to address food insecurity issues amongst students on campus. Brewer’s work with the Pride Pantry over the past year is what generated all of the buzz for him to be nominated for Professional of the Year, specifically his leadership during the 2023 NC Hunger Challenge. 

“I decided that Dr. Brewer would be a great candidate for the award because of all the effort he puts into increasing civic and community engagement on campus. He was also the first person that came to mind when thinking of a nominee for this award because of the wonderful things that the Pride Pantry team has done with the Hunger Challenge,” said Warche Downing, Senior Director of Student Retention and Engagement of GC, and the individual responsible for organizing Brewer’s application for the award. 

Despite being the smallest campus by student population in the competition, Brewer was able to lead GC to first place during the 2023 NC Hunger Challenge, a competition among 11 other campuses all focused on increasing awareness and addressing food insecurity issues, coming away with the $10,000 grand prize. 

Tyler Smith, a GC alumnus who played a crucial role in helping GC win the challenge, remarked, “I do not think we could have asked for a better team leader to guide us through the Hunger Challenge. We faced many unique situations and Dr. Brewer consistently helped us in navigating through them. I got to see first-hand the way he empowers students and especially our hunger ambassadors during the challenge.” 

Furthermore, Smith has worked closely with Brewer throughout his entire tenure here at GC and when asked what Brewer’s guidance meant to him when he was a student, he said, “Working with Dr. Brewer made me grow so much as a person. His ability to build trusting relationships with students and staff shows how much he cares about the GC community. He always goes above beyond for his students; he has been such a consistent leader and his dedication to helping others grow has never changed.” 

Brewer has made a tremendous impact on a countless number of students and will continue to do so. The main reason as to why Brewer won Professional of the Year was not only his commitment to spearheading service programs on campus, but also the amount of dedication and love that he gives to every student that he works with.  

When asked what his thoughts are on winning this prestigious award, Brewer said, “I am honored to be selected from among some amazing people doing great work across North Carolina campuses, but I give all the credit to the students. I am extremely thankful for all of the students who have worked in community service and engagement to change the campus and make the world a better place. It is their work that inspires me and encourages me. They are the ones that keep me going.” 

It is an absolute honor for Greensboro College to have someone like Brewer. He is an amazing person who has shown tremendous dedication in pushing acts of service, and he radiates positive energy everywhere he goes. No other person deserves to be named the 2024 Civic Engagement Professional of the Year more than Dr. Robert Brewer.