Ecumenical Campus Ministry in Cleveland, Ohio
UPCaM and its predecessor organization have a history going back to 1951. In that year a group of Cleveland, Ohio area churches and the Cleveland YMCA began an ecumenical ministry serving Case Institute of Technology, Western Reserve University, Fenn College, and several nursing schools. This ministry was labeled the Student Christian Union. In the late 1960s the name was changed to the University Christian Movement (UCM), but still connected to the YMCA. By this time Cuyahoga Community College (TRI-C) was becoming well established and Cleveland State University had been created and absorbed Fenn College. During the late 1960s early 1970s, the University Christian Movement was headquartered in University Circle and had full time clergy serving TRI-C Metropolitan Campus, Cleveland State University (CSU), and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the other University Circle collegiate institutions. With decreased funding, sustaining this level of full time staff was not possible by the end of the 1970s.
During 1995, the lay and clergy members of UCM’s Board of Managers voted to seek separate status as a non-profit organization, which was agreed to by the YMCA. The name for the organization created was United Protestant Campus Ministries in Cleveland (or UPCaM).
UPCaM in Cleveland, Ohio
The Reverend Dr. Kim A. Hauenstein was appointed as UPCaM’s first Executive Director and served until his death in March, 2008. Under Kim’s leadership the ministry at CWRU and the University Circle institutions grew and a formal presence re-established at TRI-C Metro and at Cleveland State University. Consequently the National Campus Ministry Association named UPCaM a campus ministry of the year in 2000.
During the first years of the new century, successful fund raising allowed for an additional half time clergy person, and for several years a large grant from the national organization of Presbyterian women made it possible to have part-time professional staff at TRI-C Metro and CSU When this grant ran out, however, we were not able to continue this program. UPCaM then reverted to the model used in Kim’s first years of the Executive Director providing leadership and a clergy presence supplemented by student interns.
Following Kim’s death, Dr. David Shriver, a semi-retired college professor who at the time was chairperson of UPCaM’s Board of Trustees, was appointed Interim Executive Director on a part-time basis. Following a national search campaign, the Reverend Donna Hughes-Hargraves was chosen as Executive Director effective as of July 1, 2009.