Distinguished Community Engagement Awards
Distinguished Community Engagement Awards
Interim Provost Mike Malone invites nominations for this year's Distinguished Community Engagement Awards for Research, Teaching, Service, and Community Partner. These awards recognize individuals within our campus community as well as community partner organizations, for their outstanding contributions to community-engaged research, teaching, service, and campus/community partnerships, with impacts at the local, regional, national, or international level.
Community Engagement is the creation and exchange of knowledge and resources performed in partnership with community collaborators. The relationship is mutually beneficial for both the university and the partners. Each award recognizes a specific aspect of community engagement:
- Community-Engaged Research Award: Recognizes a faculty member or librarian for a record of community-engaged research, scholarship, and creative activities, in all disciplines and fields, which contributes to their community partner organizations, UMass Amherst, the academy, and communities at large.
- Community-Engaged Teaching Award: Recognizes a faculty member or librarian for a record of community-engaged teaching with demonstrated engagement and impact in the community and benefits to learners at UMass Amherst.
- Community-Engaged Service Award: Recognizes a faculty member or librarian for a record of community-engaged service that demonstrates engagement and impact in the community and benefit to UMass Amherst.
- Community Partner Award: Recognizes a community organization for a record of working in mutually beneficial partnership with UMass Amherst in ways that build the organization’s capacity to accomplish its mission, promote community well-being and contribute to the community engagement mission of the campus.
Awards
Award recipients in each category receive a $2500 monetary prize and a plaque of recognition. Faculty award recipients are recognized at the UMass Amherst Faculty Honors dinner in April 2024, and the community partner recipient is recognized at the UMass Annual Community Breakfast at the start of the Fall 2024 semester.
Nominations
Nominations are accepted from any full-time UMass Amherst faculty or librarian and are evaluated by a committee of members of the Faculty Senate Council on Public Engagement and Outreach, which make recommendations for awards to the Provost.
Eligibility
- Nominees for the research, teaching, and service awards must be full-time faculty or librarians. Self-nominations are accepted.
- Nominees for the community partner award must be community organizations or agencies. Please be sure that the nominee has consented to be nominated. The nominator may seek assistance from the nominee to most accurately reflect their work in the submitted documents. Community partners may not nominate themselves.
- Nomination of prior recipients of a Community Engaged award: Prior recipients of the Research Award or the Teaching Award are not eligible to be nominated for a second award in the same category. However, they may be nominated in the other category. Prior recipients of the Community Partner Award are not eligible to be nominated for a second award. (See list of prior recipients on this webpage)
Submission and Timeline
- Competitive nomination packets will include all four components (See below for details). Nominations that are missing one or more components put the nominee at a disadvantage and are discouraged.
Nominations should be submitted via InfoReady by March 22, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. (Submissions open January 16, 2024)
Review Process
- Nominations are evaluated through a two-stage process based on the selection criteria below and administered by the Faculty Senate Public Engagement and Outreach Council. For the initial peer-review, ad hoc reviewers are selected, based, whenever possible, on relevant experience and expertise. A committee of the Public Engagement and Outreach Council then evaluates and selects nominations to recommend to the Provost, who makes the final determination of awards.
Questions: Please email your questions to ord@research.umass.edu
Nomination Packet Required Contents
Community-Engaged Research Award
Nominations should consist of:
- A cover letter (no more than two pages) from the person making the nomination and addressed to the Provost that:
- Identifies the award category
- Describes the record of accomplishment in community-engaged research, scholarship, and creative activities of the nominee, addressing the selection criteria below
- A CV/short biosketch (no more than two pages) which includes professional preparation, academic appointments, research products, recognitions, collaborations, or other affiliations that best demonstrate the impact of the faculty member’s engagement contributions
- Letter of support from one or more community partner organizations. (Limited to one page each)
- Additional letters of support from other parties and/or other documentation that describe how the engaged research has benefited the community. (Maximum of 4 pages total)
Community-Engaged Teaching Award
Nominations should consist of:
- A cover letter (no more than two pages) from the person making the nomination and addressed to the Provost that:
- Identifies the award category
- Describes the record of accomplishment in community-engaged teaching, addressing the selection criteria below
- A CV/short biosketch (no more than two pages) which includes professional preparation, academic appointments, teaching recognitions, collaborations, or other affiliations that best demonstrate the impact of the faculty member’s engagement contributions
- Letter of support from one or more community partner organizations. (Limited to one page each)
- Additional letters of support from other parties and/or other documentation that describe how the engaged teaching has benefited the community. (Maximum of 4 pages total)
Community-Engaged Service Award
Nominations should consist of:
- A cover letter (no more than two pages) from the person making the nomination and addressed to the Provost that:
- Identifies the award category
- Describes the record of accomplishment in community-engaged service, addressing the selection criteria below
- A CV/short biosketch (no more than two pages) which includes professional preparation, academic appointments, recognitions for community service, collaborations, or other affiliations that best demonstrate the impact of the faculty member’s engagement contributions
- Letter of support from one or more community partner organizations. (Limited to one page each)
- Additional letters of support from other parties and/or other documentation that describe how the engaged teaching has benefited the community. (Maximum of 4 pages total)
Community Partner Award
Nominations should consist of:
- A cover letter (no more than two pages) from the person making the nomination and addressed to the Provost that:
- Identifies the award category
- Describes the contributions of the partner and the benefits of the partnership, addressing the selection criteria listed below
- A description of the community partner (no more than 300 words), including their mission or vision statement, community context and populations served, major programs, and a concise description and history of their partnership with UMass Amherst. This information will be used in communicating with the public.
- Letters of support and other documentation that attest to the mutual benefits to the organization, the campus, and the community produced by the engagement (maximum of 6 pages total)
Selection Criteria
Nominations will be evaluated using the following selection criteria, which are adapted from the campus’ extended definition of community engagement. Community Engagement is the creation and exchange of knowledge and resources performed in partnership with community collaborators. The relationship is mutually beneficial for both the university and the partners.
For all categories of awards, nominations should address both the two following criteria:
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Establishes and/or sustains collaborative community initiatives benefitting communities and UMass Amherst, and supporting the exchange of knowledge, resources, or skills
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Enriches the lives and promotes the well-being of individuals, families, and communities
In addition, nominations should address one or more specific criteria for the relevant category:
Community-Engaged Research Award
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Addresses societal needs and/or technological challenges impacting residents of Massachusetts and beyond
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Conducts research studies in mutually beneficial partnership with community organizations and/or members of studied communities
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Adds value to community-engaged scholarship via authored reports, professional presentations, articles, posters, books, and creative works
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Informs local, state, national, and/or international policies
Community-Engaged Teaching Award
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Works reciprocally with a community partner to expand equitable access to educational opportunities and/or life-long learning for UMass students and members of the community
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Prepares a diverse body of educated, engaged citizens, or prepares the workforce
Community-Engaged Service Award
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Supports community-defined objectives through contributing professional expertise for workshops, forums, trainings, meetings, and/or presentations from members of the community
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Encourages and supports collaborative activity between community organizations and campus
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Provides engaged consulting and advisory services to support projects of interest to community organizations
Community Partner Award
Through the partnership with UMass Amherst, the organization/agency:
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Benefits the community and builds the capacity of the organization/agency to meet its mission, support its goals, and achieve its programmatic outcomes
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Provides reciprocal opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning of UMass students and community members
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Collaborates on mutually beneficial research, scholarly or creative work, and/or service projects
Contact/Questions:
For questions about the award and nomination guidelines, please email: ord@research.umass.edu
DCE Award Winners by Year:
2023
RESEARCH: Airín Denise Martínez, Health Policy and Management
TEACHING: Deborah Keisch, Civic Engagement and Service Learning
SERVICE: Paulina Borrego, University Libraries
2022
RESEARCH: Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Nursing
TEACHING: Erika Zekos, Architecture
2021
RESEARCH: Erica Scharrer, Communications
RESEARCH: Carolina Aragon, Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
TEACHING: Laura Ciolkowski, Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
TEACHING: Richard Chu, History
2020
RESEARCH: Lindiwe Sibeko, Extension Faculty; Nutrition
TEACHING: Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Psychological and Brain Sciences
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD: Holyoke Public Schools Ethnic Studies Program
2019
RESEARCH: Elizabeth Evans, School of Public Health & Health Sciences
TEACHING: Sarah Berquist, Stockbridge School of Agriculture
2018
TEACHING: Katja Hahn D'Errico, Civic Engagement and Service learning
RESEARCH: Krista Harper, Anthropology
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD: MOCHA (Men of Color Health Awareness), Springfield MA
2017
RESEARCH: Joseph Krupczynski, Architecture
RESEARCH: Lisa Green, Linguistics
2016
RESEARCH: Lisa Wexler, Community Health Education
TEACHING: Emiliana Cruz, Anthropology
2015
TEACHING: Ellen Pader, Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
RESEARCH: Thomas Zoeller, Biology
2014
RESEARCH: Nilanjana Dasgupta, Psychology
TEACHING: John Reiff, Civic Engagement & Service Learning
2013
RESEARCH: Elena Carbone, Nutrition
TEACHING: Margaret Riley, Biology
2012
TEACHING: Nicholas McBride, Journalism
RESEARCH: Linda Tropp, Psychology
2011
TEACHING: Joseph Krupczynski, Architecture
RESEARCH: Sandra Petersen, Veterinary & Animal Sciences
RESEARCH: Margaret Speas, Linguistics
2010
RESEARCH: W. Richards Adrion, Computer Science
TEACHING: Michele Cooke, Geosciences
2009
RESEARCH: Joyce Berkman, History
TEACHING: Mari Castañeda, Communication
TEACHING: Todd Crosset, Sport Management
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD: Ira Rubenzahl (President of STCC)
2008
RESEARCH: Jean Anliker, Nutrition
TEACHING: Jerri Willett, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD: Jane Feroli (Brockton Public Schools)
2007
RESEARCH: James Manwell, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
TEACHING: Daniel Gerber, Public Health
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD: Imre Kepes (Co-director of El Arco Iris in Holyoke)
2006
RESEARCH: Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Psychology
RESEARCH: Robert Pollin, Economics
TEACHING: Robert L. Ryan, Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
TEACHING: Nathaniel Whitaker, Mathematics & Statistics
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD: Mei-Ju Hwang (Head of China Program in Springfield Public Schools)
2005
RESEARCH: Leda Cooks, Communication
2004
RESEARCH: Daniel Anderson, Psychology
TEACHING: Robert W. Maloy, Education
Distinguished Academic Outreach Award Winners by Year
2003
Nancy Cohen / Nutrition
Marla Miller / History
Robert Nakosteen / Finance & Operations Management
2002
Sut Jhally / Sociology
Edward Klekowski / Biology
Leda McKenry / Nursing
2001
Ruth Hazzard / UMass Extension
Roberta Uno / Humanities & Fine Arts
James Royer / Psychology
2000
Arthur S. Keene / Anthropology
John R. Mullin / Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
1999
Ann Forsyth / Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
Henry Lu / Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
Patricia McGirr / Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
David Schimmel / Educational Policy, Research & Administration
M. Christine King / Nursing
Josephine M. Ryan / Nursing
Ronald Prokopy / Food & Natural Resources