EPIC-N Faculty of the Year and Partnership of the Year Award Winners Announced
EPIC-N is excited to announce the winners of the 2023 Partnership of the Year and Faculty of the Year awards!
The Faculty of the Year Award honors an outstanding faculty member, who has built and maintained successful community-university partnerships with their local EPIC-N program and community partner to achieve locally-defined public goals and advance the civic mission of the institution.
The Partnership of the Year Award honors programs and communities that have successfully demonstrated a mutually beneficial and invested partnership between higher education and local governments. Award winners promote cooperation among education, community, government, and business leaders. They work on critical community issues and increase public awareness and support for higher education and local government partnerships. They reflect a high standard of excellence in managing and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to ensure successful partnerships.
Faculty of the Year Award
EPIC-N is delighted to select Dr. Gregory Broberg as the recipient of the EPIC-N Faculty of the Year Award! Dr. Broberg joined the School of Social Transformation – Justice & Social Inquiry at Arizona State University as a Lecturer in 2017. Prior to this position, Dr. Broberg taught within the Arizona K-12 environment for 10 years. He served on numerous committees and supported teachers, administrators and policy makers in a variety of service positions. Dr. Broberg’s research interests include issues related to educational inequality, transformative pedagogy, teacher leadership and innovation, juvenile and restorative justice.
As a steward of community-driven partnerships, Greg Broberg has facilitated four projects with Arizona cities and towns, focusing on catalyzing local sustainability and resilience through community-engaged research methods, including surveying, interviews, and focus groups. Dr. Broberg’s commitment to meaningful community engagement through research oriented engagement activities, placemaking, and community needs assessments made him an outstanding nominee for this award. Furthermore, the committee was impressed by Dr. Broberg’s commitment to student success and support. In Dr. Broberg’s nomination form, Alison Almand stated, “Throughout his projects, Greg goes above and beyond to prepare his students for research with local communities by engaging his students through “on the ground” research. By exploring the nuances of working with large urban communities compared to small rural communities, Greg prepares his students for active engagement with community members from diverse backgrounds.”
EPIC-N congratulates Dr. Broberg on this award and thanks him for his continued work in community engagement.
Partnership of the Year Award
EPIC-N is delighted to select the UniverCity Year Program at the the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Village of Waunakee as recipients of the EPIC-N Partnership of the Year Award!
The Village of Waunakee entered into a multi-year partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s UniverCity Alliance (UCA) through its hallmark UniverCity Year program in order to pursue social justice, racial equity, inclusion and community civility. Students completed 16 projects over two academic years that addressed local ordinances, village employment practices, housing, relationship building with the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, education, and mental health.
This partnership had long and meaning impacts on the Village of Waunakee. As explained in the nomination form, “As a result of the UCY partnership, Waunakee’s Village Board unanimously approved a land acknowledgement statement on Sept. 20, 2021. The statement recognizes that Waunakee is located on land that is part of the ancestral territory of the Ho-Chunk people, cites atrocities imposed on them and pledges that the village will “advocate for a shared future” through “relationship building, education and action.” Additional impacts include the following: -Waunakee has recommendations for physical installations, art exhibits and a speaker series in collaboration with the Waunakee Public Library to educate the community about Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin’s history, language, culture, and ecology.” You can read this article to learn more about the partnership, student recommendations, and additional impacts to the community.
The partnership’s focus on community participation, impact, and meaningful engagement made it an exemplary candidate for this award. Furthermore, UCY’s evaluation strategies, specifically, the Ripple Effects Mapping process, was particularly impactful for the review committee. Lastly, the committee was very impressed by UCY’s communications strategy and their ability to successfully tell the partnership story and impact to such a large audience.
EPIC-N congratulates UCY and the Village of Waunakee on this award. Their commitment to relationship building, student support, and community impact does not go unnoticed.
EPIC-N received a handful of nominations from universities including the University of Maryland, Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Montana State University. All the nominations received for both the Partnership of the Year and Faculty of the Year Awards were exemplary, and the review committee was very impressed by the Programs’ continued commitment to meaningful community engagement. We congratulate the 2023 EPIC-N Awardees and thank all those who submitted nominations for the awards.
