University Christian Movement Records

The University Christian Movement (UCM) was an ecumenical student Christian organization in the United States of America that existed between the years 1966-1969. The UCM was the successor to the National Student Christian Federation (NSCF). UCM was the U.S.A. member of the World Student Christian Federation and a related movement of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. UCM sought to be a student movement that would unite the academic community through social action. It was very much an organization of its time, and the material produced by the UCM reflects the enthusiasm and ideology for activism, as well as the societal anxiety caused by the Vietnam War in the late 1960s .

The UCM was created to address problems within the NSCF, as the NSCF's organizational framework was not accommodating the wants and needs of the students it served. As the 1960s progressed, students became more active in political and social concerns. At the annual meeting in September of 1966, the NSCF voted to reorganize under the name the University Christian Movement. UCM wished to be an organization where people at the national level could serve as resource liaisons for grass roots activists on the regional and local levels. Unlike its predecessor, the UCM did not restrict membership to Protestant organizations and included Roman Catholic and Orthodox organizations as members. The UCM also accepted secular organizations as related organizations, such as the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

The organizational structure of the UCM included an Annual Assembly in which important matters were discussed and voted upon. The Annual Assembly also voted for members of the General Committee, which consisted of forty-five people elected by the Assembly and officers of all UCM committees who met twice a year to approve or reject policy, personnel, program, and finance matters. The Standing Committees of the General Committee conducted administrative affairs such as policy, finance, and long term program planning and evaluation, while the Program Committees dealt with immediate concerns. The Standing Committees were a) Program Planning and Evaluation, b) Nominations, c) Personnel, d) Finance, and e) Membership. The Program Committees were the a) Committee on Study Resources and Publications, b) Committee on International Ecumenical Ministries, c) Field Services Committee, d) Political Concerns Committee, e) Committee on Theological Reflection, and f) any task force that needed to be created for an issue. In addition to the Standing and Program Committees, an Advisory Council was formed to give voice but no voting power to the “Committee of National Staff of the NCCUSA Department of Higher Education, mission boards, Christian social action boards, departments of ministry, councils of churches, the Ecumenical Voluntary Service Center, other boards or agencies concerned with higher education,” (UCM Articles of Operation). The concerns of the groups could be heard, but ultimately power rested with the students.

The program departments of the UCM illustrate the organization's commitment to social and political activism. The Field Department of the UCM was its most effective program department. This department was the last holdover from the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions. While the SVM Field Department sent traveling secretaries to universities and colleges to promote missions abroad for Protestant mission boards and agencies, the UCM Field Department supported individuals who were involved in local social and political programs. Several of the Field Staff were involved in SDS projects, such as Steve Johnson, who worked on the Radical Education Project in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Another holdover from the SVM was the Quadrennial conference, and the Process ’67 conference can be viewed as the last Quadrennial. Compared to past conferences, Process ’67 was much more unstructured in organization and form. UCM centered the conference on Depth Education Groups (DEGs). These small groups were designed to concentrate on a single issue and find new ways to confront that issue through education, strategy, and model building. DEGs were conducted on a variety of social and political topics such as White Power and the Exploitation of the Ghetto; Abortion; and Mass Media, Public Opinion, and Politics. Process ’67 also employed closed circuit television in the hotel to broadcast conference events and talks, conducted workshops on the arts, held worship services, and coordinated a film festival.

At the General Committee meeting on March 1, 1969, the UCM voted to dissolve. UCM had spent three years struggling to find a clear identity and let all voices and perspectives be heard within the organization. Without a clear, defining principle the UCM could not bring unity to the diverse perspectives within the organization. Instead there were different groups vying for attention and funding. UCM also had a sustainability problem as its elected officers cycled off each year, resulting in a new direction that did not address follow up for past programs and activities. Without consistent leadership and identity the UCM could not be maintained.