Student Research Prize Expands to Include Community Outreach

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 2, 2021) — When Damian Bazadona envisioned the Situation Prize for Research in 2017, his goal was to support student excellence by helping fund undergraduate research and creative projects. With the global pandemic, the focus of the prize is shifting to support projects that have direct impact on communities.

Working with CURCE — the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement — Bazadona’s goal is to make the award more representative of the community activism his own company engages in. Bazadona, a 1998 UAlbany graduate with a bachelor’s in business administration, is the founder and president of Situation Interactive, a New York City digital marketing agency. He also founded the nonprofit Situation Project, which creates opportunities for middle school students from under-resourced New York City public schools to engage directly with the arts.

The award will still recognize nine students with $500 awards, but the application requirements and focus have changed this year. Applicants submit a project proposal that addresses a problem or issue within their own community. The goal is to get students to use their research skills toward something they are passionate about and want to impact.

Student proposals include both the personal – why the problem is significant to them – and the practical – what actions should be taken to make a lasting change that addresses the issue. The proposals are backed up with academic and research materials.

“The new focus of the Situation Prize provides opportunities for student scholars who are engaging in research that is personal to them,” said JoAnne Malatesta, UAlbany’s vice provost and dean for undergraduate education. “Whether under the direction of a faculty member or working independently, students explore empirical research from journals and articles and apply data and analysis to identify the context of an issue and to develop recommendations about how to address it.”

Applications for the newly named Situation Prize for Research – Community, Cause and Advocacy are being accepted now through March 19.

“Our world needs fresh thinking, passion and innovation like never before to solve what feels like a never-ending list of challenges facing communities both here in New York and across the globe,” Bazadona said. “I think there is no better place to start to find groundbreaking solutions than the creative minds of the University Albany student body. I remain steadfast in both my belief in and commitment to the possibilities of a public education and its ability to create innovators that have a profound impact in making the world a better place.”

Maisy Noble-Buono is an example of such a student. The Albany native and UAlbany senior is applying for a Situation Prize to continue her research into environmental and social justice programs and the ways they can collaborate to improve opportunities in Albany’s South End. In the summer of 2020, Noble-Buono worked with AmeriCorps VISTA at the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, an urban environmental education non-profit, participating in an urban agriculture and environmental justice program for high school aged youth, and helping develop urban agricultural and food systems for vulnerable populations.

“The South End has so many community members passionate about where they live and looking after the community. It has been a privilege to be able to interview people in hopes of learning more about the issues they face, ways to act against systemic injustices, and focus on community solution building,” she said. “Hopefully, this research will facilitate future collaboration among groups and individuals to create and share solutions to local issues.”

Using research to improve the community is a pillar of a publicly engaged Research-1 university, and an important part of UAlbany’s strategic priorities. This focus resulted in the University earning the prestigious Carnegie Foundation's Classification for Community Engagement in January, 2020.

“As a publicly engaged university, we value the importance of working collaboratively and collectively with the surrounding community to address societal challenges while providing a public benefit,” said Alfredo Medina Jr., the executive director of the Office for Public Engagement. “Moreover, UAlbany students play an integral role in advancing engagement. Our students are highly engaged in volunteerism, community-based participatory research, community-focused and public service internships, and service-learning opportunities that contribute to meaningful and impactful changes in our communities."

The deadline for students to submit Situation proposals is March 19. More information on the award and application requirements is available on CURCE’s website.