Institutions, faculty, and community engagement professionals recognized for outstanding work pursuing the public purposes of higher education

Campus Compact is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the five Campus Compact Impact Awards: the Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award, the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award, the Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement, the Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation, and the Eduardo J. Padrón Award for Institutional Transformation. These awards recognize the outstanding work of individuals and institutions in pursuit of the public purposes of higher education.

“This challenging year has reminded us that a commitment to the common good is not a nice option; it’s essential for the survival of our communities and our democracy,” says Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. “The individuals and institutions we celebrate through these awards demonstrate the power of higher education to serve the deepest human interests: safety, health, opportunity, voice, and connection.”

The recipients of these awards will be recognized at a virtual Awards Celebration in the spring of 2021.

NADINNE CRUZ COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD
The Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award celebrates the ethical leadership and advocacy demonstrated by Community Engagement Professionals. Recipients have demonstrated collaboration with communities focused on transformative change; a commitment to justice-oriented work; and an impact on the larger movement to build ethical and effective community engagement locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

The recipient of the Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award is Maria Dominguez Gray, Class of 1955 executive director of the Phillips Brooks House Association at Harvard College. Dominguez Gray has had a profound impact on the way Harvard College fulfills its public service mission. She has developed deep and sustained community programs, including the Public Service Academy and the Y2Y Homeless Youth Program, which create environments where justice, equity, and community needs are centered, with community members serving as co-educators, co-facilitators, and co-learners. Dominguez Gray’s work has focused on ensuring that community engagement at Harvard College is guided by an equity lens. She has implemented numerous programs, including the Chan Stride Service Program, that offer students from marginalized backgrounds greater access to civic and community engagement opportunities. In doing so, she has helped build a new generation of justice-focused, engaged leaders at Harvard College who reflect the diversity of our society.

ERNEST A. LYNTON AWARD FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP OF ENGAGEMENT AND THOMAS EHRLICH CIVICALLY ENGAGED FACULTY AWARD
The Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement and the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award recognize early career and senior faculty, respectively, who practice exemplary engaged scholarship through teaching and research. The awards are presented in partnership with Brown University’s Swearer Center. Recipients are selected on the basis of their collaboration with communities, institutional impact, and high-quality academic work.

The recipient of the Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement is Michael Hemphill, assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Hemphill’s scholarship focuses on teaching personal and social responsibility through sport, physical activity, and physical education guided by the principles of restorative justice. He is the co-author of the Restorative Youth Sports model, which was informed by restorative practitioners in New Zealand. His efforts focus on interdisciplinary approaches to community engagement that respond to community-identified needs by using sports and physical activity as a way to invite youth to build developmental relationships, foster personal and social skills, and develop a critical consciousness that helps them examine issues of systemic social injustice.

In addition, the following faculty have been recognized as Lynton Award finalists: Joshua Streeter, assistant professor of theatre at James Madison University; Laura Trull, assistant professor of social work at James Madison University; and Ayana Alan-Handy, assistant professor of urban education at Drexel University.

The recipient of the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award is Enrique Murillo Jr., professor of education at California State University, San Bernardino. He is the founder and executive director of LEAD (Latino Education and Advocacy Days), which offers programming, publications, and events for Latinx educators, administrators, leaders, and students. Murillo is recognized for his “Netroots” approach to scholarship that combines awareness-raising, education, promotion, advocacy, activism, analysis, discussion, critique, and dissemination to advance understanding of educational issues that impact Latinx populations.

Murillo is the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Latinos and Education and the Handbook of Latinos and Education. He is founder of the National Latino Education Network and currently serves as president of the Southern California Consortium of Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

In addition, the following faculty have been named Ehrlich Award finalists: Cheryl Grills, professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University, and Eric Galm, associate professor of music at Trinity College.

RICHARD GUARASCI AND EDUARDO J. PADRÓN AWARDS FOR INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION
The Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation and the Eduardo J. Padrón Award for Institutional Transformation recognize four-year or graduate institutions and community colleges, respectively, that have successfully implemented institution-wide efforts to address issues of public concern by aligning teaching, research, practice, and values in service of the common good. The recipients, listed below, have undertaken comprehensive efforts to advance the values articulated in Campus Compact’s 30th Anniversary Action Statement of Presidents and Chancellors.

The recipient of the Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation is the Medical College of Wisconsin. As a national leader in community engagement, the Medical College of Wisconsin is recognized for integrating engagement into research, education, and clinical care with the goal of advancing health policy and advocacy and addressing the social determinants of health. Through initiatives like the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program and its extended community-engaged research, the Medical College of Wisconsin demonstrates a deep strategic commitment to community, embracing its responsibility as a place-based institution to address diverse health needs throughout Wisconsin.

The Medical College of Wisconsin has been nationally recognized for its commitment to community engagement and is one of only four medical schools to receive the 2015 Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.

The recipient of the Eduardo J. Padrón Award for Institutional Transformation is Wilbur Wright College, an independently accredited, open access community college in the City Colleges of Chicago system. Through a wide range of programs, including its partnership with the Vaughn Occupational High School for students with intellectual disabilities, its cooperative pipeline program with Northeastern Illinois University, and its free career assistance offerings, Wilbur Wright College is acknowledged for working diligently and creatively to promote the public good in the city. With a diverse student population that includes many students from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Chicago area, its leadership has established an expectation that being a member of Wilbur Wright College is being a member of the community it serves. In its Strategic Plan, the College has committed to embedding civic engagement and community outreach into all facets of campus planning and operations, including hiring, planning, and teaching practices.

For eligibility criteria, past recipients, and other details about the Campus Compact Impact Awards, see www.compact.org/impact-awards.