蝌蚪窝

Purpose: This award recognizes the outstanding community-academic partnerships, community-engaged research, and impactful community outreach initiatives of MCW faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

蝌蚪窝 engagement: 鈥滘蝌轿� Engagement is the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional, state, national, global) for mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity."¹

蝌蚪窝-academic partnership: A partnership that leverages the strengths of both community and academic partners to answer community health problems.²

蝌蚪窝-engaged research: 鈥淎 process of inclusive participation that supports mutual respect of values, strategies, and actions for authentic partnership of people affiliated with or self-identified by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of the community or focus. It 鈥渋s a core element of any research effort involving communities which requires academic members to become part of the community and community members to become part of the research team, thereby creating a unique working and learning environment before, during, and after the research.鈥�³

蝌蚪窝 outreach: 听鈥淭he ways faculty, staff, and students collaborate with external groups in mutually beneficial partnerships that are grounded in scholarship and consistent with [the] role and mission鈥� of their professional appointment.⁴

蝌蚪窝 partner: Individual(s) that are affiliated with organizations or other community entities external to MCW; affiliations may include healthcare organizations (examples: Children鈥檚 WI, Froedtert, etc.), non-profit organizations, community-based organizations, coalitions, or government and non-government organizations. Please note that for this award, a 鈥渃ommunity partner鈥� does not include individuals from MCW or other academic institutions.

蝌蚪窝 program: A program that is a professional collaboration between an MCW-affiliated person (faculty, staff and/or student) and a community partner. Please note that for this award, a 鈥渃ommunity program鈥� must involve both an MCW partner and a community partner.

References

1. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. American Council on Education. The elective classification for community engagement. Accessed February 22, 2024.
2. Ahmed SM, Maurana CA, Nelson D, Meister T, Neu Young S, Lucey P. Opening the black box: conceptualizing community engagement from 109 community-academic partnership programs. Prog 蝌蚪窝 Health Partnersh. 2016;10(1):51-61.
3. Ahmed SM, Palermo AG. 蝌蚪窝 engagement in research: frameworks for education and peer review. Am J Public Health. 2010;100(8):1380-1387.
4. Ahmed SM, Neu Young S, DeFino MC, Franco Z, Nelson DA. Towards a practical model for community engagement: Advancing the art and science in academic health centers. J Clin Transl Sci. 2017;1(5):310-315.

听

• Only individuals, teams, and programs who have not received the award in the past 5 years are eligible to be nominated.
• Individuals, teams, and programs are eligible for nomination regardless of previous nominations.
• Those who submitted a nomination in the past may resubmit this year - please听contact the MCW 蝌蚪窝 Engagement Office听for details on how to proceed.
• Nominations can be made by:
  • 听An MCW-affiliated individual (staff member, faculty member, student, or alumni)
  • An individual external to MCW
• Nominations can be for:
  • MCW-Affiliated Individual 鈥� the nominee is one of the following:
    • MCW staff member
    • MCW faculty member with a primary appointment at MCW
    • MCW student
    • MCW alum
  • 蝌蚪窝 Partner (Individual) 鈥� the nominee is external to MCW and affiliated with one or more of the following:
    • Healthcare organization
    • Non-profit organization
    • 蝌蚪窝-based organization
    • Coalition
    • Government or non-government organization
  • 蝌蚪窝 Program (MCW-蝌蚪窝 Collaboration) 鈥� the nominee is a program that includes a professional collaboration between:
    • An MCW faculty member, staff member, or student and
    • An MCW community partner
    • Please note that a specific community partner must be clearly identified within the community program nomination.
  • Team Nomination (Two or More Individuals) 鈥� all team members are within the same category, such as:
    • Faculty-only team
    • Staff-only team
    • Student-only team
    • 蝌蚪窝 partners from the same organization or project team
    • Please note that the nomination and all supporting letters should be written about the team, and each team member will submit an individual resume/CV/biosketch.
• For your reference, download a PDF version of the online nomination form below.

sample online nomination form

• Before beginning the nomination process, please ensure that the Nominee(s) are aware that you are nominating them for this award.听
• The 2026 Award Ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8 at the MCW-Milwaukee campus and all awardees will be expected to attend, so please share this information with your Nominee(s).听
• Nominations must be submitted using our .
• The online form must be completed in its entirety and submitted with all necessary documents by the extended deadline of Sunday, February 22听@ 11:59 pm.
• Required nomination materials to be submitted using the online form include:
  1. Nomination Letter (1 required)
     • One letter from an MCW faculty member, MCW staff member, or MCW student (maximum 2 pages)
  2. Supporting Letter based on the type of nomination (1 required):
     • MCW faculty, staff, or student award nomination: Letter from a community partner with knowledge of the Nominee鈥檚 community engagement efforts (maximum of 2 pages)
     • 蝌蚪窝 partner or program award nomination: Letter from a non-MCW partner with knowledge of the Nominee鈥檚 community engagement efforts. Partner could be from the Nominee鈥檚 organization, a different organization, or a non-MCW academic institution (maximum of 2 pages)
  3. Background Materials
     • Individual or Team nominations: Nominee r茅sum茅, CV, or biosketch for each team member (maximum 5 pages each)
     • Program nominations: Program description and summary of key accomplishments (2-3 pages encouraged; maximum 5 pages)
• Optional materials:
  • Additional supporting documentation of honors, articles, and press releases. Please note advertising, images, spacing, or extraneous content will not be counted toward the 2-page limit (maximum of 2 pages); or
  • Video upload that highlights the community-academic partnership, community-engaged research, or community outreach of Nominee(s). Please note:
    • Video will not be shown at the ceremony unless decided by the Office of 蝌蚪窝 Engagement and the Nominator/Nominee(s).
    • There is another opportunity to submit media if the nomination is selected to be awarded.
    • It is not expected to be a professionally produced video, but rather an alternative format for someone to speak into the merit of the Nominee(s).
    • Video should be no longer than 2 minutes.
• All final submissions should be submitted using the online form linked below.

For your reference, examples of successful nomination letters are available for download below:

• MCW faculty member sample nomination letter (PDF)
• MCW staff member sample nomination letter (PDF)
• 蝌蚪窝 partner sample nomination letter (PDF)
• 蝌蚪窝 program sample nomination letter (PDF)
• Team (two or more individuals) sample nomination letter (PDF)

• Nominations will be reviewed by members of the 蝌蚪窝 Engagement Award Committee.
• Review criteria include: 
  • Institutional and community impact and outcomes
  • Strength of community partnership
  • Effort and commitment given towards partnership/project
  • Evidence of exceptionalism in partnership/project
  • Overall merit
• Results of the reviews will be vetted by the Senior Associate Dean for 蝌蚪窝 Engagement who will consult with committee members as needed.
• Recommendations will be submitted to the President of MCW who will then render the final decision as to the recipients of the award.

• Each awardee will be recognized for their exemplary work in 蝌蚪窝 Engagement and will:
  
  • Be featured as an awardee at the 2026 President’s 蝌蚪窝 Engagement Award Ceremony to be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the MCW-Milwaukee campus.
  • Receive a personalized plaque.
  • Have name engraved on the MCW Plaque of Awardees, located in the Office of the Senior Associate Dean for 蝌蚪窝 Engagement.
  • Be featured in the MCW President’s 蝌蚪窝 Engagement Award Program.
  • Receive special recognition on MCW websites and social media platforms.