The University of Iowa’s Office of Community Engagement is pleased to accept nominations for the Faculty Leadership Award in Community Engagement:

The Faculty Leadership Award in Community Engagement recognizes a faculty member, academic leader, or faculty-led group (e.g., advisory committee, task force, project team) that advances community-engaged teaching, research, and scholarship. This award honors those who build reciprocal community partnerships, integrate engagement into curriculum and academic work, mentor others in community-engaged practices, and help embed engagement as a core component of the university’s academic mission.

Beginning this year, the Faculty Leadership Award in Community Engagement replaces the Office of the Vice-President for Research’s Distinguished Achievement in Publicly Engaged Research Award. The Office of Community Engagement worked in partnership with the Office of the Vice-President for Research to reimagine this award and expand the scope to include faculty research, teaching, scholarship and community partnership development.

Eligibility and Criteria

All current tenure-track, research track, instructional track or clinical-track faculty members with a 50 percent or greater appointment are eligible for nomination. Self-nominations are not allowed.

The nominee’s work should:

• Demonstrate a commitment to building mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationships with community partners
• Meaningfully addresses a community or societal problem, need, issue, or interest related to your area of expertise.
• Produce a definable impact on the community at the local, state, national, or international level.
• Generate significant new transferable knowledge that can be used outside the specific community setting where it was produced
• Ensure sustainability of community-engaged partnerships over time

Nomination and Selection Process

Required Documentation:

• Letter of Nomination describing the nominee’s qualifications and accomplishments.
• Up to three Letters of Endorsement: Letters of support from a variety of constituents will have a greater impact. UI, non-UI (e.g., experts in the field), and at least one letter from a community partner. Letters of support should each be no more than one page in length and address the criteria listed above.
• The Letter of Nomination and the Letters of Endorsement should be written by different people.
• Nominee's CV (up to 10 pages).

Late or incomplete materials will not be accepted. 

Award Details

• A prize of $1,000.
• Recipients will be recognized at the University of Iowa Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony in May 2027.

Submission Process and Deadline

The deadline for submissions is Jan. 15, 2027. Submissions should be completed by a nominator. 

Nominators: CLICK HERE to begin the submission process.  

If you have problems or questions, contact Jan Warren (jan-warren@uiowa.edu) in the Office of Community Engagement well ahead of the deadline.