Award Description
Established in 2008, the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach’s (PSO’s) annual Engaged Scholar Award recognizes a full-time, tenured faculty member for contributions to advancing public service, outreach, and community engagement at the University of Georgia (UGA). The honor recognizes the awardee’s significant engaged scholarship endeavors such as:
- Engaged research and scholarship that is conducted for the benefit of, and in partnership with, a community (broadly defined);
- Curricular engagement of students in academic service-learning courses; and/or
- Mutually beneficial community-university partnerships that address critical community needs.
Nominations for the 2027 Engaged Scholar Award are due to the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13, 2026.
Submit nomination dossiers via this LINK.
Direct questions to:
Matt Bishop
Associate Vice President
Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach
University of Georgia
706-542-6167
mlbishop@uga.edu
The Award
The Public Service and Outreach Engaged Scholar Award recognizes a tenured faculty member for contributions to advancing public service, outreach and community engagement at the University of Georgia (UGA). The awardee receives a $5,000 faculty development grant from the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach to sustain current engaged scholar endeavors or to develop new ones. The awardee will be recognized at the Public Service and Outreach Annual Meeting, scheduled for Monday, March 29, 2027, during Honors Week at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.
Eligibility
Permanent, full-time tenured associate or full professors in a UGA school or college are eligible.
Nomination Dossier Requirements
The unit head (dean, unit director, or department head) submits a nomination dossier using the UGA InfoReady system via this LINK. Nominations must be submitted by 4:00pm, Friday, November 13, 2026.
The nomination dossier will include three sections:
Section 1: Describe the nominee’s engaged scholarship in one or more of the following areas:
- Engaged or applied research conducted for the benefit of, and in partnership with an external organization or group (broadly defined to include nonprofit organizations, businesses, community groups, governmental agencies, educational institutions, or other entities external to the university);
- Curricular engagement of students in outreach-based teaching and research;
- Unique application of high impact outreach-based instruction, including experiential activities or academic service-learning into course development and delivery;
- Outreach-university partnerships, describing how the partnership addresses the critical state-wide or community-focused needs and enhances applied research and/or engaged scholarship;
- Grants awarded, presentations, and/or publications that further applied or engaged scholarship; and/or
- Advancement of the public service, outreach, and engagement mission at UGA.
Section 2: Describe the impact of the nominee’s engaged scholarship on one or more of the following aspects:
- Outreach partner (What has been the impact of the nominee’s engaged teaching, research, and public service and outreach endeavors on the external partner? How has the nominee measured this impact? Is there mutually beneficial reciprocity, based on partner’s needs?).
- Student experience (What has been the impact of the nominee’s outreach-based instruction, including experiential activities or academic service-learning and/or student-conducted engaged research projects on her/his students’ academic learning, personal growth, and civic development? How has the nominee measured this impact?).
- Mission of public service, outreach, and engagement at UGA (How has the faculty member’s engaged teaching, research, and public service and outreach activities complemented and advanced the teaching, research, and public service goals within her or his academic department? Has the nominee collaborated with public service faculty or PSO units’ programs, projects, or communities, if so what as the nature and impact of the collaboration?).
Section 3: Appendices
- An abridged curriculum vitae.
- A syllabus (if appropriate) that demonstrates how service learning, other high impact learning practices, and/or engaged research activities are connected to the needs of a community or outreach partner and that outlines an approach for student reflection of these activities on their learning course content, personal growth, or civic engagement.
- A letter from the Unit Head that includes:
- a brief position description that outlines the nature and scope of the nominee’s roles and responsibilities; and,
- a reflective commentary on the impact of the nominee’s engaged teaching, research, or public service and outreach activities on student learning, on the goals of the department, or on the community partnership(s).
- A letter from an Outreach Partner highlighting the mutually beneficial partnership of engagement.
Past Recipients
2026: Jon Calabria
2025: Jenay Beer
2024: Diane W. Bales
2023: Henry N. Young
2022: Jason A. Cade
2021: Edward Delgado-Romero
2020: Stephan Durham
2019: Alexander Scherr
2018: Ruth Harman
2017: Tina Harris
2016: Phillip Tomporowski
2015: Anna Karls
2014: Marsha Davis
2013: Lance Palmer
2012: Lorilee Sandmann
2011: David Berle
2010: Nancy R. Williams
2009: Virgina D. Nazarea
2008: William S. Kisaalita