Public Engagement Award Winners Announced 

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 14, 2020) — From working to enhance education and literacy challenges in the Capital Region and conducting research and outreach on policy issues, to supporting area organizations in addressing real-world issues and highlighting international cultural collaborations, this year’s President’s Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement underscore the University’s commitment to public engagement.

Awardees will be honored during an online ceremony in September.

“The UAlbany community’s commitment to our core strategic priority of engagement and service is deep and unwavering. Even the extraordinary challenges of the past several months haven’t dampened the Great Dane spirit,” said President Havidán Rodríguez. “Our faculty, staff and students have sought and found innovative ways to address the emerging needs of our neighbors, communities and institutions during these critically difficult times.”

The 2020 award winners include:

Capital District Writing Project (CDWP) in the Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning within the School of Education, a community of K-college educators working to enhance the teaching of writing in the Capital Region’s schools.

Bryan Early, associate dean for research and associate professor, Department of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, and director, the Project on International Security, Commerce & Economic Statecraft (PISCES), a team of experts dedicated to conducting research and outreach on policy issues that intersect the realms of economics and security.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Capstone Experience at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), a full-year experiential learning opportunity through which students work with partners from community organizations and industry to design, prototype and test a system that solves a real-world problem for a local stakeholder.

Smart and Connected Communities, an initiative between experts from the School of Social Welfare and CEAS and their community partners that designs practical solutions for deploying resources consistent with the priorities of communities, particularly with regard to basic human needs such as food, housing and social support.

The Confucius Institute at the University at Albany, a non-profit educational collaboration between UAlbany and Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China, that provides Chinese language instruction and cultural programming.

UAlbany – RED Bookshelf Collaboration, a partnership between UAlbany and the RED Bookshelf, a non-profit organization that works to address literacy challenges for children in Albany by providing new and reconditioned books for youngsters’ home libraries.

In January, the University was awarded the prestigious Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification, an honor recognizing institutional commitment to community engagement. The designation will enhance the educational experience of UAlbany students with its emphasis on continuous improvement and embedding public engagement in the community.

“It has been a trying year, that’s for certain. But we have much to celebrate,” said Alfredo Medina, executive director of the Office for Public Engagement. “After achieving the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation, this year’s awardees further inspire us and carry us one step closer to realizing UAlbany’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading diverse public research university, providing the leaders, the knowledge and the innovations to create a better world.”

Details about this fall’s awards ceremony will be available shortly. For more information on the President’s Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement, contact Mary Hunt in the Office for Public Engagement at (518) 527-3691.

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