Community Engagement Awards

Now accepting nominations for the 2023-23 Community Engagement Awards. Submission Deadline: March 1, 2024

The Office of Community Engagement strives to connect the university’s students, faculty, staff, and administrators with the community through meaningful conversations, collaborative actions, and the sharing of resources.

Community partners are at the local, regional, state, national and global levels, and include civic, non-profit, faith-based, and corporate organizations. We seek to enhance economic competitiveness as well as to help address challenges in our society, such as unemployment, educational attainment, health disparities and homelessness. 

Annual community engagement awards reflect the impactful research, partnerships, and learning that is being conducted within the university: 

Community Engaged Teaching Award 

The Community Engaged Teaching Award will be presented to a faculty member who demonstrates intentional, impactful, and transformational learning objectives through coursework that positively impact the well-being of the community. Learning objectives and/or activities that assist undergraduate and/or graduate students in actively addressing injustice, inequity, and/or barriers in the community. 

Previous Awardees: 

  • 2023- Joseph Graves, Ph.D., professor, Biology, College of Science and Technology
  • 2022- Michael Brooks, Ph.D., professor, Counseling, College of Education
  • 2021- Kim Smith, Ph.D., associate professor, Journalism and Mass Communication, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
  • 2020- Odile Huchette, lecturer, Natural Resources and Environmental Design, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences 

 

Community Engaged Research Award

The Community Engaged Research Award will be presented to any faculty member or team of faculty/staff members that are conducting a research project/initiative that alleviates or positively addresses a community-related concern; including but not limited to injustice, inequity, and/or any barrier impacting the well-being of the community. The research activity may explore social issues, health concerns, educational access, or other community-wide concerns. 

Previous Awardees:

  • 2023- Dongyang Deng, Ph.D., associate professor, Built Environment, College of Science and Technology
  • 2022- F.D. Bluford Library Research Team (Harvey Long, Carlos Grooms, Katie Kehoe and James Stewart)
  • 2021- Karen T. Jackson, Ph.D., assistant professor, Leadership Studies and Adult Education, College of Education
  • 2020- Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, Ph.D. assistant professor, Sociology and Social Work, College of Health and Human Sciences

 

Community Partnership Award 

The Community Partnership Award will be presented to a recipient that demonstrates a significant contribution to the academic excellence of our students and/or supported faculty and institutional goals through a project(s) or partnership that promotes community engagement, the alleviation of a community barrier, or promotes civic engagement. 

Previous Awardees:

  • 2023- FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
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  • 2022- Piedmont Business Capital
  • 2020- Elimu Empowerment Services (EES)