Connecting campuses through competition.
ACM strives to connect to faculty, staff, and students on all member campuses. Besides off-campus study programs for students, ACM activities also include sponsoring one or two athletic tournaments each year as well as a competitive short story contest. The athletic competitions are distinctive because they usually include an academic and social component–for example, a keynote speaker, a workshop session, or a tour of a local attraction as well as time for student athletes from different teams to interact with each other over a meal.
ACM Athletic Tournaments
The 14 ACM institutions compete on the NCAA Division III level as members of several different athletic conferences. The Athletic Directors of the ACM colleges are committed to collaboration in athletics by organizing annual ACM tournaments.
Nick Adams Short Story Contest
Each year, ACM sponsors the Nick Adams Short Story Contest to celebrate the creativity and talent of student writers at ACM colleges and to highlight the excellent creative writing programs across the consortium. The contest, named for the young protagonist of many Hemingway stories, is open to students currently enrolled at ACM colleges and awards a first prize of $1,000 to the author of the winning story.
Student Photo & Film Competitions
Beginning in 2008 as part of Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s 50th Anniversary celebration, ACM sponsored its Off-Campus Study Photo Contest, inviting students to share images and impressions gathered while studying in locations around the world. Building on students’ enthusiastic participations submitting and voting on prize-winning photos, in 2016 and 2018 ACM sponsored student-authored film conferences and contests.