Award Nominations Deadline is Nov. 7, 2008 (Firm)
The Gulf-South Summit is proud to present five awards recognizing the hard work and dedication of outstanding people and programs in the field of service-learning and community engagement in higher education:
- Practitioner Contributions to Service-Learning
- Community Partner Contributions to Service-Learning
- Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning Instruction
- Student Contributions to Service-Learning
- Service-Learning Partnership
Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Practitioner Contributions to Service-Learning
The Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Practitioner Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education will be given to a practitioner (faculty member, staff member, or administrator with responsibility for administration and/or coordination of service-learning activities) who has demonstrated excellence in creating, providing, and sustaining opportunities for engaging college/university students in service-learning.
Evaluation criteria are as follows:
- Advancement of a culture of engagement within his/her institution
- Promotion of a scholarship of engagement among his/her colleagues
- Demonstrated leadership in the field of civic engagement
- Advancement of the principles of effective practice
- Demonstration of program growth and sustainability over time
The Outstanding Practitioner Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education Award recipient will receive a plaque in recognition of his/her accomplishments in addition to $500.
Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Community Partner Contributions to Service-Learning
The Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Community Partner Contributions to Service-Learning will be given to a community organization whose members have demonstrated excellence in creating and sustaining opportunities for engaging college/university students in service-learning. Community partners should have collaborated with a service-learning program for more than one year in order to be nominated.
Evaluation criteria are as follows:
- Evidence of having an active voice in the planning and implementation of service-learning
- Evidence of benefits to students
- Demonstration of effort in sustaining the collaboration over time
The Outstanding Community Partner Contributions to Service-Learning Award recipient will receive a plaque in recognition of his/her accomplishments in addition to $500
Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning Instruction
The Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning Instruction will be given to a member of the teaching faculty who has demonstrated excellence incorporating service-learning pedagogy in the college/university classroom.
Evaluation criteria are as follows:
- Demonstration of engaged teaching methodologies
- Evidence of benefits to students
- Evidence of collaboration with community partners and/or beneficiaries in course design
- Demonstration of sustained commitment by incorporating service-learning consistently for at least three academic terms
The Outstanding Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning Instruction Award recipient will receive a plaque in recognition of his/her accomplishments in addition to $500.
Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning
The Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning will be given to a full- or part-time undergraduate student who has demonstrated extraordinary public or community service efforts while attending an institution of higher education.
Evaluation criteria are as follows:
- Evidence of the effects of his/her service-learning participation in the community
- Evidence of the impacts on his/her academic learning, civic commitment, community awareness, and personal development
- Evidence of how service-learning efforts have furthered the mission of his/her institution
- Demonstrated innovative and sustained approaches to address an issue in the community
The Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning Award recipient will receive a plaque in recognition of his/her accomplishments in addition to $500.
Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Service-Learning Partnership
The Gulf-South Summit Award for Outstanding Service-Learning Partnership will be given to a team of practitioners, faculty, and community partners who have demonstrated success in achieving a mutually beneficial collaboration that impacts real needs in the community.
Evaluation criteria are as follows:
- Evidence of a formalized relationship between community organizations and a college/university. This may include a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding or a Letter of Partnership outlining the commitments of each stakeholder.
- Evidence of impacts of the partnership on local concerns
- Indication of how partnership advances engaged scholarship objectives of the college/university
- Evidence that the partnership has been sustained for at least three years
The Outstanding Service-Learning Partnership Award recipients will each receive a plaque in recognition of their accomplishments and $500 payable to the community partner organization.