Grants and Awards
Supporting people and communities whose projects and programs solve problems and support progress.
Community Engagement Scholarship Awards
The Carnegie Foundation describes community engagement as “the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.”
As a Carnegie Community Engaged University and land-grant institution, engagement is among Colorado State’s most important core missions. As articulated in its Strategic Plan, CSU will engage with people and communities to solve problems, share knowledge, and support progress, increasing the university’s relevance and value to the State of Colorado, the nation and the world.
Jointly established by the Office of the Provost and Office of Engagement and Extension, the Community Engagement Scholarship Awards recognize exemplary engaged scholarship by CSU faculty, academic staff members or Extension agents/specialists and their community partner(s).
Award Categories and Stipends
Distinguished Community Engagement Scholarship Award
In recognition of a collaboration, project or program with a long-term record of sustained impact, achievement and scholarship (one at $3,000).
Emerging Community Engagement Scholarship Award
In recognition of a relatively new initiative that has shown potential for long-term impact, achievement and scholarship (one at $1,000).
Eligibility
Award stipends are to be used to support existing or proposed engagement activities of the selected program. Award finalists and recipients will be honored at the annual Celebrate! Colorado State University Awards event.
The winner of the Distinguished Community Engagement Scholarship Award is expected to be eligible and competitive for prestigious national awards such as the:
- C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award
- Engagement Scholarship Consortium Excellence Awards
- APLU Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Awards
All current CSU faculty and instructors (including adjunct appointments) and staff (including program directors, Extension, and research appointments) are eligible.
It is expected that a major portion of the engaged scholarship will have been accomplished while the nominee served as a faculty or academic staff member at Colorado State University.
Nominees for the Distinguished Community Engagement Scholarship Award are expected to have collaborated with their partners for a minimum of three years.
Previous Award Recipients
Community Engagement Scholarship Awards
The Distinguished Award
The Distinguished award celebrates a collaboration, project or program with a long-term record of sustained impact, achievement and scholarship.
2020 Recipient: The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)
CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow). By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive website, their aim is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. They are now in all fifty states. Learn more about CoCoRaHS here.
The Emerging Award
The Emerging award celebrates a new initiative that has shown potential for long-term impact, achievement and scholarship.
2020 Recipient: Colorado Blueprint for Food and Agriculture
The Colorado Blueprint for Food and Agriculture is an applied research and community engagement process that combines the collaborative efforts of CSU’s College of Agriculture, Extension and Ag Experiment Station, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council, and LiveWell Colorado.