2026 Call for Nominations Open through February 13!

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.

Community engagement: “Community 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

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

Community-engaged research: “A 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 “is 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.”³

Community outreach:  “The 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” of their professional appointment.⁴

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

Community 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 “community program” 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. https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/elective-classifications/community-engagement/how-to-apply
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 Community Health Partnersh. 2016;10(1):51-61.
3. Ahmed SM, Palermo AG. Community 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.

• 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 contact the MCW Community Engagement Office for details on how to proceed.
• Nominations can be made by:
  •  An MCW-affiliated individual (staff member, faculty member, student, or alumni)
  • An individual external to MCW
• Nominations can be for:
  • MCW-Affiliated Individual – the nominee is one of the following:
    • MCW staff member
    • MCW faculty member with a primary appointment at MCW
    • MCW student
    • MCW alum
  • Community Partner (Individual) – the nominee is external to MCW and affiliated with one or more of the following:
    • Healthcare organization
    • Non-profit organization
    • Community-based organization
    • Coalition
    • Government or non-government organization
  • Community Program (MCW-Community Collaboration) – 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) – all team members are within the same category, such as:
    • Faculty-only team
    • Staff-only team
    • Student-only team
    • Community 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. 
• 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). 
• Nominations must be submitted using our online REDCap form.
• The online form must be completed in its entirety and submitted with all necessary documents by the deadline of Friday, February 13 @ 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’s community engagement efforts (maximum of 2 pages)
     • Community partner or program award nomination: Letter from a non-MCW partner with knowledge of the Nominee’s community engagement efforts. Partner could be from the Nominee’s organization, a different organization, or a non-MCW academic institution (maximum of 2 pages)
  3. Background Materials
     • Individual or Team nominations: Nominee résumé, 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 Community 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.

submit a nomination

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)
• Community partner sample nomination letter (PDF)
• Community program sample nomination letter (PDF)
• Team (two or more individuals) sample nomination letter (PDF)

• Nominations will be reviewed by members of the Community 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 Community 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 Community Engagement and will:
  
  • Be featured as an awardee at the 2026 President’s Community 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 Community Engagement.
  • Be featured in the MCW President’s Community Engagement Award Program.
  • Receive special recognition on MCW websites and social media platforms.