Outstanding Community Service Awards
Since 1999, the University of Minnesota has annually given Outstanding Community Service Awards to faculty, staff or University-affiliated community members who have devoted their time and talent to make substantial, enduring contributions to the external community and to improve public life and the well-being of society.
A list of awardees from 1999-2005 is at http://www1.umn.edu/civic/news/ocs_awards.html. Nominations for 2006 have just been submitted. Winners will be honored at a dinner on April 25.
Awardees come from a wide range of roles and disciplines. In 2005, for example, winners were a director of service learning, an extension educator, the executive secretary of a hearing foundation, and professors of family social science, astronomy, and applied economics. This is evidence that important public engagement can come from all parts of academia and its community partners, not just the usual suspects in "service roles".
To quote from the award announcement:
...Such contributions and accomplishments must result in long-term and lasting changes for the public good and demonstrate an unusual commitment to the University and greater community.[T]he Outstanding Community Service Award emphasizes the importance of external community service and recognizes the role of faculty and staff that is over and above the expectations of their regular position description. Awards given to faculty or staff will also recognize the agency or group with which the recipient of the award is affiliated. Community members who receive the award will have made a significant public service or public engagement contribution through an affiliation with the University of Minnesota.
These awards do not just signal the applause of the University; they also carry a significant financial reward: continuous annual salary augmentation for faculty and staff winners during their employment at the University of Minnesota.
Such concrete manifestations of recognition are crucial if public engagement is to be genuinely valued. Are there other universities that have similar award programs?