Campus Compact is pleased to announce that Youth Action Lab and Lugo-McGinness Academy (University of Virginia), Chester-Swarthmore Fellows Council (Swarthmore College), Liberal Arts Action Lab (Connecticut State Community College), Liberal Arts Action Lab (Trinity College), and the University of Iowa’s Initiative for Sustainable Communities have been awarded Campus Compact's new Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnerships Award. The award recognizes outstanding higher education programs and initiatives that make a meaningful impact by partnering with communities to address complex social issues.
Programs recognized exemplify the core principles of effective civic and community engagement—reciprocity, collaboration, transdisciplinarity, and sustainability—and address specific social issues affecting communities, such as public health, violence prevention, economic development, K-12 education, climate change, or houselessness.
“We are honored to recognize these community-campus partnerships as the inaugural winners of the Campus Compact Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnership Awards,” said Bobbie Laur, Campus Compact president. “Effective, respectful, and mutually beneficial partnerships between campuses and communities are essential to creating the just and prosperous future we all seek. These exemplary partnerships demonstrate just some of the many different ways communities and campuses working together can create meaningful impact.”
The 2025 Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnerships Award Winners include:
Youth Action Lab and Lugo-McGinness Academy (University of Virginia)
Team members: Jessica Forrester, postdoctoral researcher, Youth-Nex at the University of Virginia, Olivia Burke, graduate student at the University of Virginia, Carly Dirghangi, reading interventionalist at Lugo-McGuiness Academy, and Nancy Deutsch, associate dean for faculty affairs at University of Virginia
Youth Action Lab partners (YAL) with local teachers, schools, and youth-serving organizations to train and support youth, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, in using research to improve their lives and communities. Through Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), young people learn to systematically research issues they care about and take action to address them. YAL offers two flexible models: Mentor-Led Model (Undergraduate students from the School of Education and Human Development are paired with local high school teachers and youth-serving programs to lead our YPAR curriculum) or Teacher-Led Model (YAL offers preliminary training and ongoing support to teachers and youth program leaders interested in implementing our curriculum without a student-mentor).
“Lugo-McGinness and Youth Action Lab have been instrumental in fostering prosperity in our community by advocating for policies that ensure economic and social justice for all by presenting to our local school board researched topics to enhance our academic environment,” said Lamont Trotter, program administrator at Lugo-McGuiness Academy in a letter supporting the partnership’s nomination for the award. “Whether through equitable access to educational resources or by addressing the social determinants that impact student achievement, their contributions have gone far beyond the classroom, helping to build a stronger, more just society.”
Chester-Swarthmore Fellows Council (Swarthmore College)
Team members: The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility at Swarthmore College, including Executive Director Ben Berger, Assistant Director Ashley Henry, and Senior Associate Director, Katie Price
The Chester-Swarthmore Fellows Council, a group of Chester resident-leaders with wide and deep local roots in the city, comprises an advisory body that informs and contextualizes Swarthmore College’s place-based engagements in Chester, PA. The Fellows convene several times per year, sometimes as a whole and more frequently in smaller subgroups, alongside faculty, staff, and students from Swarthmore’s Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. The goals are to shape student training programs; to consult on place-based initiatives such as the Chester Community Fellowship and ChesterSemester; to explore the feasibility of potential projects and related, collaborative activities; and to implement long-term, transformational strategies. Chester partners also participate as compensated co-educators and guest speakers in Swarthmore classes.
"The council represents an exceptional assembly of leaders, each bringing distinct expertise from fields such as education, public health, community safety, economic development, and more. Collectively, we carry the history, stories, and aspirations of Chester families and residents—relationships that have been built over generations," said James E. Turner, vice president of the Chester Business Association in a letter supporting the partnership’s nomination. "I am deeply proud of the Chester-Swarthmore Fellows Council and the innovative, impactful model we are creating. The potential of our partnership is immense, setting an example for colleges and communities everywhere."
Liberal Arts Action Lab (Trinity College and Connecticut State Community College)
Team members: Derin O. Atalay, coordinator and lecturer at Trinity College, Laura Minor, director of CHER academic programs and lecturer at Trinity College, Jeffrey Partridge, the Action Lab faculty director and professor of English at Connecticut State Community College, and Erna Alic, CHER program manager at Trinity College
The Liberal Arts Action Lab (LAAL) engages Hartford community partners in semester-long research projects, fostering collaboration with student and faculty teams from Trinity College and CT State Community College. Community partners propose the research questions, ensuring that the projects address real needs and priorities within the community. Students apply to join project teams, enrolling in two courses that equip them with research skills and digital tools while working closely with these partner organizations. A key component of LAAL is the Hartford Resident Advisory Board (HRAB), which includes local residents who play a crucial role in prioritizing research proposals and ensuring that community voices guide project selection. Our objectives are to enhance the city's role in the region, promote social innovation, and encourage civic engagement and sustainability. By empowering community partners to propose their own research questions, LAAL strengthens its connection to Hartford and enables residents to influence initiatives that directly impact their lives. This collaborative approach enriches the student experience and fosters a sense of ownership within the community, ultimately aiming to create lasting positive effects for both Hartford and the students involved.
"An educational partnership such as this between a private four-year college and a two-year community college is a unique, somewhat complex, but ultimately win-win arrangement. It’s a unique partnership because it brings together students who are typically from privileged backgrounds with those who are not," said Dr. Jeffrey F.L. Partridge, professor of English and capital faculty director of the Liberal Arts Action Lab at Connecticut State Community College in a letter supporting the partnership’s nomination. "Our students report that participating in the Action Lab increases their confidence, enhances their skillset, opens their eyes to unforeseen educational and career opportunities, and sets them apart in their applications to four-year colleges and universities."
University of Iowa’s Initiative for Sustainable Communities
Team members: Jennifer New, public engagement specialist for IISC at the University of Iowa, Travis Kraus, director of IISC at the University of Iowa, Carrie Schuettpelz, associate professor of practice in the School of Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Iowa, and Scott Spak, associate professor in the School of Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Iowa
For the past 15 years, the University of Iowa’s Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) has served as a vital bridge between Iowa’s premier research university and communities across the state. The campus-wide public engagement initiative was created to provide valuable services and substantial outcomes to partners while giving upper-level undergraduates and graduate students hands-on learning experiences. Through site visits and conversations with stakeholders, IISC and the partnering organization (a city, county-wide organization, or regional entity) hone a list of projects that address real needs while also meeting learning objectives.
"The Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) shares the rich resources of a research university with its statewide neighbors, while its staff, faculty, and students are genuinely concerned with and interested in the strengths and obstacles faced by Iowa communities," said Gina S. Bell, director of sustainability for the city of Dubuque in a letter supporting the partnership’s nomination. "Together with IISC, we honed our list to 16 projects that touched many different parts of our community and brought to bear the expertise of many university departments, faculty, and students. It was a deeply collaborative process that put issues of inequity and social justice at the fore of our work."
The Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnerships Award is presented as part of Campus Compact's Impact Awards, which recognize shining examples of meaningful, impactful civic and community engagement work. Read more about the other awards and this year's recipients here.
The recipients of these awards will be recognized at Compact25, Campus Compact’s annual conference, which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia from March 31st - April 2nd, 2025.