For Immediate Release

Contact: Amy Gibans McGlashan 802-443-2510

March 24, 2009 

News Advisory:

Bill McKibben to receive Marc vanderHeyden Award from Vermont Campus Compact

Vermont author and environmentalist Bill McKibben will be presented with the second annual Marc vanderHeyden Service to Vermont Award given by Vermont Campus Compact (VCC) Board of Directors, on Wednesday, April 1 at the University of Vermont Davis Center.  Named after retired Saint Michael’s College president and Vermont Campus Compact chair Marc venderHeyden, the Service to Vermont Award designates a distinguished individual with ties to Vermont who, through his or her actions, scholarly or professional work, and/or sustained civic engagement, has influenced, inspired and motivated others. McKibben is author of twelve books on global warming and other environmental issues, and a founder of 350.org, Step It Up, and many other climate change action organizations.

The vanderHeyden Award will be presented with other statewide awards to celebrate individual contributions and impact of higher education in service to Vermont. Jeff Nolan, from the law firm Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, a major sponsor, will present the Marc vanderHeyden Service to Vermont Award to McKibben.

Other Vermont Campus Compact awards to be given include the Madeleine M. Kunin Public Service Award, which honors one outstanding Vermont higher education student who links their service to a larger social context and a commitment to community impact. This year’s Kunin Award will be presented to Courtney Gabaree, a senior at Johnson State College. She is president and co-founder of A Global Partnership: Students for Children’s Rights, a Johnson club dedicated to combating sex trafficking, child soldiers, and other international children’s rights issues. Courtney has also volunteered at the Clarina Howard Nichols Center, Laraway Youth and Family Services, and led alternative breaks.  Eight more students from Johnson State, Community College of Vermont, College of St. Joseph, Middlebury College, Norwich University, Southern Vermont College, Saint Michaels’ College, and the University of Vermont will each receive a Commitment to Service and Engagement Award for the breadth and depth of their community involvement.

Patricia Siplon of Saint Michael’s College will receive VCC’s Engaged Scholar Award, for making community engagement an integral part of her teaching and research.  Siplon, a Professor of Political Science, has extensively researched the ramifications of HIV/AIDS in the field of political science, and has supported student involvement and research on HIV/AIDS both on-campus and in study abroad. She also has a partnership with the Ilula Orphan Program in Tanzania.

The Campus/Community Partnership Award recognizes a mutually beneficial partnership between a campus and (a) community partner(s) that produces measurable improvements in people’s lives and enhance student learning will be given this year to Champlain Elementary School and Saint Michael’s College.  Students from Saint Michael’s work with Somali/Bantu refugee children and their families both in and out of the classroom, providing homework help, mentoring, translation assistance, and help with navigating social services. Seven community partners who work with colleges and universities to link students to meet critical needs in communities will also be recognized as Engaged Partners.

Faculty exemplars for incorporating student engagement and public service into their teaching are also recognized. The Excellence in Community-Based Teaching Award is being given this year to dual winners Jay and Meg Ashman of University of Vermont and John Elder of Middlebury College. The Ashmans, in UVM’s Community Development and Applied Economics department, created the Belize semester abroad program in sustainable development which includes an intensive project-based service-learning course that partners UVM students with students from Belize’s Galen University and 5-7 local nonprofits each year.  Elder, a Professor of English, taught the fall, 2008 course called ‘Portrait of a Vermont Town,’ in which students interviewed residents of Starksboro, VT about their values and community. Town officials will use this information in planning Starksboro’s future.  Amy Stuart from the Community College of Vermont wins the Campus Leadership for Civic Engagement Award for her efforts to institutionalize public engagement as a critical component of her higher education institution.

All awards will be presented at a Statewide Recognition Reception concluding VCC’s statewide conference, Through A Civic Lens:  Strengthening Higher Education from Classroom to Community which will bring together faculty, staff, administrators, students and community members to examine the ways institutions can use service, service-learning and civic engagement to improve higher education regarding such topics as student learning, diversity, residential life, retention, global citizenship, community building, sustainability, alcohol use, and student engagement. The conference features a keynote by Vincent Tinto, workshops and roundtables, and a best practices showcase. Registration for the conference closes March 27. The conference is sponsored by Dinse, Knapp, and McAndrew, p.c and Sodexo. For more information or to register, visit http://www.vtcampuscompact.org.

Vermont Campus Compact is a consortium of Vermont’s colleges and universities and non-academic partners committed to the civic purposes of higher education. We work with members to strengthen communities and educate for informed and active citizenship. VCC presidents believe that through sustained student, faculty, and institutional engagement with communities, higher education can help prepare tomorrow’s civic and social leaders while improving the lives of Vermonters. Providing training, networking, grants, resources, awards and more, VCC advances civic engagement on campuses and in communities, through service, integrating service into teaching (‘service-learning’), campus/community  partnerships, activism, dialogue, and socially responsible lifestyles. VCC is affiliated with national Campus Compact and 32 state affiliates, more than 1200 members realizing the public good of higher education.