Recognizing Exemplary Engaged Scholarship

UOE provides leadership and administrative support for university-wide programs that recognize exemplars of high-quality community-engaged scholarship. Beyond simply honoring individuals, recognition programs are an expression of the culture an institution wants to promote and project. MSU's awards are a statement that this university deeply values, encourages, and celebrates the accomplishments of its faculty, staff, and partners in community engagement.

Currently, UOE supports two recognition programs: the MSU Community Engagement Scholarship Award and the MSU Curricular Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Awards.

Presented since 2006, the MSU Community Engagement Scholarship Award (CESA) recognizes a faculty member and community partner with a joint presentation at the All-University Awards Convocation and a shared stipend. CESA recipients additionally serve as MSU's nominees in the national competition for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award and the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award, presented at the annual meetings of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities respectively. Inaugurated in 2007, these awards have been presented to MSU nominees in 2009 and 2011.

In 2008, to commemorate its 40th year in operation, the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (CSLCE), in partnership with the Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement and the Vice President for Student Affairs and Services, and with endorsement from the Provost, inaugurated the MSU Curricular Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Awards. The awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated innovative and/ or sustained effort in service-learning and civic engagement that is specifically linked with the mission of their college. Recipients are selected from faculty and staff by the deans of each of MSU's 17 degree-granting colleges. In addition to these recognitions, the CSLCE began introducing additional awards in 2012 to honor community partners and philanthropies, civic advocates, and engagement innovators.

UOE is currently reviewing these and other recognitions programs with the intention of expanding the number and variety of MSU awards honoring community engagement. New recognition programs will be announced in the months ahead.