Two new awards created to recognize faculty public engagement

Topics:

Two new presidential awards will honor faculty public engagement at the University of Michigan. President Mark Schlissel announced the annual awards Tuesday at an event celebrating the university’s impact on society through public service at the national level. 

“To extend our leadership during our third century, I want to help us disseminate our work and share our expertise in a more conspicuous and public manner,” Schlissel says. “This will advance our mission as a public university by better connecting U-M’s broad intellectual power to areas of society where research and understanding can make a difference in lives and communities.”

The President’s Award for National and State Leadership will honor individuals who have provided sustained, dedicated and influential leadership and service in major national or state capacities. Recipients will have contributed to the health, resilience and prosperity of our nation, state or society at large, or to a just and equitable global environment.

President Mark Schlissel speaks during Tuesday’s event celebrating the U-M’s impact on society through public service at the national level. (Photo by Scott C. Soderberg, Michigan Photography)

Nominees for the President’s Award for National and State Leadership should be serving, or have recently served, in one or more of the following ways:

• Federal and state advisory committees.

• Senior-level fellowship positions at federal or state agencies or the White House.

• Intergovernmental personnel agreement positions at federal or state agencies or the White House.

Service in other capacities of similar scope and importance also will be considered.

The President’s Award for Public Impact will honor individuals who have offered their academic research and expertise in tangible service of a major public sector challenge at the scale of the community, state, nation or world.

Recipients will have carried out the mission of the university by actively addressing significant challenges and bringing their academic capacity and expertise in pressing issues in collaboration with other actors, both governmental and non-governmental.

Nominees will have addressed challenges in the public health, educational or environmental spheres or beyond.

“I believe greater faculty engagement outside the confines of the academy will also help the public to better understand the full value of our activities,” Schlissel says.

Both awards are open to tenured, tenure-track or research faculty in all disciplines on each of the three U-M campuses. Members of other categories of instructional faculty also may be nominated when appropriate.

The nominees for both awards will be recommended to the president by a committee appointed by the president and consisting of members of the faculty and of the offices of Research and of Government Relations.

The deadline for nominations for both awards is Sept. 8. Recipients will be honored at the President’s Leadership Breakfast later in the fall. Each honor includes an award of $5,000.

Tags:

Leave a comment

Commenting is closed for this article. Please read our comment guidelines for more information.