Community Engagement Awards & Recognition

Community Engagement

Community Engagement Awards

The Office of Community Engagement seeks to recognize and honor individuals who and organizations demonstrating exemplary community engagement through service, teaching, advocacy, and collaborative partnership. The Outstanding Community Service Awards, as well as the Community-Engaged Learning Teaching Excellence Award and Mission Mover Award, are given to students, faculty, staff, and community partners that exemplify ETSU's commitment to Go Beyond the Classroom.

Students, faculty, staff, and community partners are invited to nominate deserving individuals and organizations for consideration. In securing a nomination for any of the campus community engagement awards, nominees will automatically be considered for nomination for the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award. This statewide recognition is administered by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to current students, faculty, and staff members engaged in dedicated public service, who thereby emulate the community-focused ethos of Representative Harold Love Sr. Nominations for this award are evaluated on the documentation of their service contribution and evidence of the success of their service in terms of improvement of communities and leadership roles in the community.

 

  • Outstanding Community Service Awards

    ETSU is committed to improving the quality of life of the people of the region and beyond. Public service is core to ETSU’s mission and, as such, the University attracts faculty, staff, and students who share that passion. The ETSU Outstanding Community Service Award recognizes current students, and faculty and staff members who have demonstrated their desire to improve the lives of those in our community through dedicated public service, volunteerism, advocacy, and community engagement. 

    Each year, ETSU will select two individuals - one for the Faculty and Staff Outstanding Community Service Award, and one for Student Outstanding Community Service Award. 

    Faculty and staff, and student nominations will be evaluated on the documentation of their service contribution and evidence of the success of their service. The ETSU Community Engagement Committee Awards and Recognition Subcommittee will review applications and make award recommendations to the Provost. 

    Recipients of the ETSU Outstanding Community Service Award will receive a cash award in honor of their service. For the Faculty and Staff category the award is $2000; for the Student category it is $500. 

    Nominations have closed. Please check back for updates.

  • Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) Teaching Excellence Award

    The Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) Teaching Excellence Award will recognize a faculty member or instructor with consistently superior teaching accomplishments in the CEL pedagogy. This will include, at a minimum, evidence of the following:

    1. Incorporation of critical reflection as a high impact teaching practice in the CEL course(s)

    2. Integration of processes and experiences that foster a mutually beneficial partnership with local agencies, promote student learning outcomes, and contribute to the well-being of the region

    3. Course design that clearly links the course learning outcomes to student learning outcomes and the community engaged experience.

    An eligible nominee must be a full-time faculty member as defined in Section 2 of the Faculty Handbook in service for at least three (3) full years at ETSU. Only teaching experiences at ETSU will be considered in making this award.The CEL teacher considered may be either undergraduate, graduate or both.

    Nominations for the award may be submitted by academic colleagues, administrators, students, and community partners. By recognizing and honoring faculty and instructors who excel in CEL teaching, the award not only acknowledges their contributions but also serves as a model to inspire others to explore, actively integrate, and enhance CEL teaching at ETSU. Faculty and instructors may also be self-nominated.

    A complete nomination packet includes the following elements.

    1. Community-Engaged Learning Course List: Include a list of your CEL course sections. For each course section, include the course number and title, academic year and term, CRN, enrollment number, and course catalog description. (1 page max.)


    2. Teaching Philosophy: Include a brief teaching philosophy, particularly emphasizing your approach to CEL and the integration of knowledge gained in instructional professional development. Your statement should address how you integrate critical reflection into your CEL teaching; how you develop, foster, and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with community partners; and how course learning outcomes are linked to student learning outcomes and the community engaged experience (2 pages max.)


    3. Abbreviated CV: Include an abbreviated version of your CV. (2 pages max.)


    4. Statements of Support: Submit two statements of support. One will be from internal stakeholders and may include your supervisors, colleagues, and/or students, which speak specifically to your effectiveness in CEL teaching. The other will be from a community partner who is included in at least one of your CEL courses (2 letters max.)


    5. Evidence of Impact: Include at least one, and no more than three, pieces of supporting material that provide additional evidence of your impact and effectiveness in CEL teaching. The supporting materials may include an example of students’ work, SAIs, examples of student reflections, course artifacts (e.g., screenshots), media coverage of the CEL experience, and/or published scholarship recognized in your discipline and related to your instruction of CEL classes. (3 items max.)

    Nominations have closed. Please check back for updates.

  • Mission Mover Award

    The Mission Mover Award is one of ETSU’s highest recognitions for our nonprofit partners. This award honors an organization that exemplifies excellence in advancing the mission of East Tennessee State University through outstanding dedication, innovation, and impact.

    This award is reserved for community organizations that have built meaningful partnerships with ETSU - organizations that leverage shared resources, expertise, and collaboration to tackle critical challenges and uplift communities. Whether through research, education, outreach, or service, nominees for this award help drive ETSU’s mission of academic excellence, community engagement, and improving quality of life in our region and beyond.

    Nominations have closed. Please check back for updates.

 


Previous Winners

  • 2025

    3impactawards2025recipients

    Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) Teaching Award: Dr. Jennifer Axsom Adler

    Faculty/Staff Outstanding Community Service Award: Karlota I. Contreras-Koterbay

    Student Outstanding Community Service Award: Kyah Powers

    Mission Mover Award: Hands On! Discovery Center

  • Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award

    2024:

    • Dr. Natalie Smith (Faculty/Staff)


    • Dr. Opal Frye-Clark (Student)

    2023:

    • Joy Fulkerson (Faculty/Staff)
    • Thalia Sullivan (Student)

    2021:

    • Dr. Sarah Melton (Faculty/Staff)

    2020:

    • Dr. Andrea Clements (Faculty/Staff)

    2019:

    • Dr. Michael Whitelaw (Faculty/Staff)

    2018:

    • Nathan Farnor (Student)

    2016:

    • Mahbubur Rahman (Student)

    2014:

    • Dr. Cynthia Chambers (Faculty/Staff)