Council hosts 17th Annual Excellence Awards

Today we celebrate the remarkable individual efforts that embody the endeavors of the Council on Community-Based Partnerships, which are to bring resources and insights to a variety of challenges facing the public. We are here today to honor students, faculty, staff and community partners who are among the most efficient at The University of Alabama. I congratulate every one of you for your accomplishments.

Said by Dr. Jim McLean, associate vice president for Community Affairs and executive director of UA’s Center for Community-Based Partnerships (CCBP)

The day began with breakfast and an Engaged Scholarship Showcase where faculty, staff and students shared their research and experiences with community-engaged scholarship and teaching in a round-table discussion setting.

Before the luncheon, attendees had the opportunity to view research posters on display from UA faculty, staff and students. Topics ranged from the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of the proposed Interstate 14 on Selma to increasing access to doula care in Alabama.

This year’s poster award recipients:

Jennifer Baggett	Hannah Corbin	Victoria Duignan
Baili Gall	Ayana Hendricks-Boyland	Dr. Holly Horan
Kefentse Kubanga	Rebecca Lewis	Emily Locke
Ella Magerl	Ozioma Omah	Jacob T. Peterson
Paige Rentfro	Jack Spalding	Dr. Daniela Susnara
Riley White	Andrea Ziegler

Dr. Drew Pearl, director of community engagement research and publications for CCBP, recognized the 2022–2023 cohorts of the Emerging Community Engagement Scholars, Community Engaged Learning Fellows, and Public Engagement Learning Community.

Emily Locke, a doctoral student in anthropology and graduate research assistant to Pearl, followed, recognizing the 2022–2023 members of the Student Community Engagement Center Leadership Academy, which seeks to develop students’ leadership in engaged scholarship.

The Council also awards seed funding and graduate fellowships to support community-engaged research across campus.

Seed funding was awarded for two projects:

Name	Title	Project
Allison Grant	Assistant Professor of Art	Wood and Springs
Dr. Stephanie McClure	Assistant Professor of Anthropology	The Period Study: Exploring and Addressing the Needs of Menstruating Adolescents

Three faculty members were awarded Graduate Fellowships for 2023–2024:

Name	Title	Project	Assisted By
Dr. Lisa Davis	Associate Professor in the Department of Geography	Food Particles to Flood Plans: Assessing and Planning for Extreme Flood Risk in the Tennessee River Valley	Mary Eminue (Master’s Student)
Dr. Mercedes M. Morales-Aleman	Associate Professor in the College of Community Health Sciences	Improving Maternal Mental Health Outcomes for Black Women in the U.S. South: Examining Telehealth and In-Person Models of Care through an Academic-Community Partnership	Kate Graziano (Master’s Student)
Dr. Ansley Gilpin	Associate Professor & Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology	Partnering with Schools: Teachers Deploying the Imagination Intervention to Improving Children’s Self-Regulation and School Readiness	Lindsey Held (Doctoral Student)

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Eleven individuals received Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship awards in three different areas.

Engaged Scholarship awardees included:

Name	Title	For
Dr. Kristine Jolivette	Paul and Mary Harmon Bryant Endowed Professor, College of Education	Improving Juvenile Justice Facilities
Dr. Haley Townsend	Assistant Professor in the Capstone College of Nursing	Project Wellness in Motion
Justin McCleskey		His work as an intern with the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
Jillian Maxcy-Brown	Student	Addressing Infrastructure Challenges in the Black Belt Region of Alabama through Evaluating Wastewater and Water Access Affordability
Dr. Cheryl Fondren & Dr. Allison Hooper	Director of United Way of West Alabama’s Success by 6 Program Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education	Improving Kindergarten Readiness through the JumpStart Summer Program
Sally Smith	J.D., Executive Director for the Alabama Association of School Boards	Work to obtain funding that will make possible opportunities for individuals to become grant coaches for schools across the Black Belt

Engaged Teaching and Learning (a new category this year) awardees included:

Name	Title	For
Dr. Chapman Greer	Associate Provost for General Education and Senior Instructor of Management	MGT 456/556: Data Visualization
Dr. Yinghui Liu	Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry	STEM education
Dr. Chandra Clark	Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media	The World Games

Civic Engagement (a new category this year) awardees included:

Name	Title	For
John Dodd	Student	His work in voter engagement
Dr. Jessy Ohl	Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies	Providing students with experiential learning opportunities through COM 341: American Political Rhetoric

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The 2023 Distinguished Community-Engaged Scholar Award recipients are:

Name	Title
Dr. Blake Berryhill	Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Program in the College of Human Environmental Sciences
Dr. W. Ross Bryan	Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the Honors College
Katie Johnson	Graduate Student in the Department of Religious Studies
Walker Area Community Foundation	Led by President Paul W. Kennedy

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