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The Ϲ President’s Community Engagement Award recognizes exemplary community-academic partnerships, community-engaged research and community outreach initiatives of Ϲ faculty, staff, students and community partners. Awardees will be recognized during an in-person ceremony on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Ϲ-Milwaukee. More information at the link to register!

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Nominations Closed as of 2/22/2026

Awardees will be recognized for their achievements during a ceremony held on Friday, May 8, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at the Ϲ-Milwaukee campus.
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Purpose and Definitions

Purpose: This award recognizes the outstanding community-academic partnerships, community-engaged research, and impactful community outreach initiatives of Ϲ faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

Community engagement: “Community Engagement is the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional, state, national, global) for mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity."1

Community-academic partnership: A partnership that leverages the strengths of both community and academic partners to answer community health problems.2

Community-engaged research: “A process of inclusive participation that supports mutual respect of values, strategies, and actions for authentic partnership of people affiliated with or self-identified by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of the community or focus. It “is a core element of any research effort involving communities which requires academic members to become part of the community and community members to become part of the research team, thereby creating a unique working and learning environment before, during, and after the research.”3

Community outreach: “The ways faculty, staff, and students collaborate with external groups in mutually beneficial partnerships that are grounded in scholarship and consistent with [the] role and mission” of their professional appointment.4

Community partner: Individual(s) that are affiliated with organizations or other community entities external to Ϲ; affiliations may include healthcare organizations (examples: Children’s WI, Froedtert, etc.), non-profit organizations, community-based organizations, coalitions, or government and non-government organizations. Please note that for this award, a “community partner” does not include individuals from Ϲ or other academic institutions.

Community program: A program that is a professional collaboration between an Ϲ-affiliated person (faculty, staff and/or student) and a community partner. Please note that for this award, a “community program” must involve both an Ϲ partner and a community partner.

References

  1. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. American Council on Education. The elective classification for community engagement. Accessed February 22, 2024.
  2. Ahmed SM, Maurana CA, Nelson D, Meister T, Neu Young S, Lucey P. Opening the black box: conceptualizing community engagement from 109 community-academic partnership programs. Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2016;10(1):51-61.
  3. Ahmed SM, Palermo AG. Community engagement in research: frameworks for education and peer review. Am J Public Health. 2010;100(8):1380-1387.
  4. Ahmed SM, Neu Young S, DeFino MC, Franco Z, Nelson DA. Towards a practical model for community engagement: Advancing the art and science in academic health centers. J Clin Transl Sci. 2017;1(5):310-315.

Nomination Criteria
  • Only individuals, teams, and programs who have not received the award in the past 5 years are eligible to be nominated.
  • Individuals, teams, and programs are eligible for nomination regardless of previous nominations.
  • Those who submitted a nomination in the past may resubmit this year - pleasecontact the Ϲ Community Engagement Officefor details on how to proceed.
  • Nominations can be made by:
    • An Ϲ-affiliated individual (staff member, faculty member, student, or alumni)
    • An individual external to Ϲ
  • Nominations can be for:
    • Ϲ-Affiliated Individual – the nominee is one of the following:
      • Ϲ staff member
      • Ϲ faculty member with a primary appointment at Ϲ
      • Ϲ student
      • Ϲ alum
    • Community Partner (Individual) – the nominee is external to Ϲ and affiliated with one or more of the following:
      • Healthcare organization
      • Non-profit organization
      • Community-based organization
      • Coalition
      • Government or non-government organization
    • Community Program (Ϲ-Community Collaboration) – the nominee is a program that includes a professional collaboration between:
      • An Ϲ faculty member, staff member, or student and
      • An Ϲ community partner
      • Please note that a specific community partner must be clearly identified within the community program nomination.
    • Team Nomination (Two or More Individuals) – all team members are within the same category, such as:
      • Faculty-only team
      • Staff-only team
      • Student-only team
      • Community partners from the same organization or project team
      • Please note that the nomination and all supporting letters should be written about the team, and each team member will submit an individual resume/CV/biosketch.
  • For your reference, download a PDF version of the online nomination form below.

sample online nomination form

Nomination Procedure
  • Before beginning the nomination process, please ensure that the Nominee(s) are aware that you are nominating them for this award.
  • The 2026 Award Ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8 at the Ϲ-Milwaukee campus and all awardees will be expected to attend, so please share this information with your Nominee(s).
  • Nominations must be submitted using our .
  • The online form must be completed in its entirety and submitted with all necessary documents by the extended deadline of Sunday, February 22@ 11:59 pm.
  • Required nomination materials to be submitted using the online form include:
    1. Nomination Letter (1 required)
      • One letter from an Ϲ faculty member, Ϲ staff member, or Ϲ student (maximum 2 pages)
    2. Supporting Letter based on the type of nomination (1 required):
      • Ϲ faculty, staff, or student award nomination: Letter from a community partner with knowledge of the Nominee’s community engagement efforts (maximum of 2 pages)
      • Community partner or program award nomination: Letter from a non-Ϲ partner with knowledge of the Nominee’s community engagement efforts. Partner could be from the Nominee’s organization, a different organization, or a non-Ϲ academic institution (maximum of 2 pages)
    3. Background Materials
      • Individual or Team nominations: Nominee résumé, CV, or biosketch for each team member (maximum 5 pages each)
      • Program nominations: Program description and summary of key accomplishments (2-3 pages encouraged; maximum 5 pages)
  • Optional materials:
    • Additional supporting documentation of honors, articles, and press releases. Please note advertising, images, spacing, or extraneous content will not be counted toward the 2-page limit (maximum of 2 pages); or
    • Video upload that highlights the community-academic partnership, community-engaged research, or community outreach of Nominee(s). Please note:
      • Video will not be shown at the ceremony unless decided by the Office of Community Engagement and the Nominator/Nominee(s).
      • There is another opportunity to submit media if the nomination is selected to be awarded.
      • It is not expected to be a professionally produced video, but rather an alternative format for someone to speak into the merit of the Nominee(s).
      • Video should be no longer than 2 minutes.
  • All final submissions should be submitted using the online form linked below.

Nomination Letter Examples
Review Process
  • Nominations will be reviewed by members of the Community Engagement Award Committee.
  • Review criteria include: 
    • Institutional and community impact and outcomes
    • Strength of community partnership
    • Effort and commitment given towards partnership/project
    • Evidence of exceptionalism in partnership/project
    • Overall merit
  • Results of the reviews will be vetted by the Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement who will consult with committee members as needed.
  • Recommendations will be submitted to the President of Ϲ who will then render the final decision as to the recipients of the award.
Awardee Recognition
  • Each awardee will be recognized for their exemplary work in Community Engagement and will:
    • Be featured as an awardee at the 2026 President’s Community Engagement Award Ceremony to be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Ϲ-Milwaukee campus.
    • Receive a personalized plaque.
    • Have name engraved on the Ϲ Plaque of Awardees, located in the Office of the Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement.
    • Be featured in the Ϲ President’s Community Engagement Award Program.
    • Receive special recognition on Ϲ websites and social media platforms.

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