Public Engagement Award Winners Announced

The University has announced the recipients of the 2019 President’s Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement. Awardees will be honored at a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall at 5 p.m. Monday, April 29.

The President’s Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement recognize individuals and University programs and units for outstanding achievement in public engagement through scholarship, research, teaching, experiential and applied earning, creative activity and service.

Nine awards will be presented to UAlbany faculty, staff and community partners representing the arts, criminal justice, engineering, geography and planning, psychology, public health and social welfare.

“This year’s awardees are outstanding examples of how members of the UAlbany community have integrated the University’s five core priorities — student success, research excellence, diversity and inclusion, internationalization, and engagement and service — into the work they do each and every day in their labs, classrooms and communities. Our honorees demonstrate the important role a public research university like UAlbany plays as an anchor institution for its region,” said Alfredo Medina, Jr., executive director of the Office for Public Engagement.

The 2019 award winners are:

  • Beth J. Feingold, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, for her leadership on Capital Region FRESH (Fresh produce for Recovery Environment, Sustainability and Health)
  • Elana Gordis, associate professor, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, for developing afterschool programming for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Schenectady and for her research to improve psychosocial outcomes for youth
  • Marcia Osterhout Kees, contingent faculty, Department of Geography and Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, for her leadership of the Master’s in Regional Planning Graduate Studio
  • Robert L. Miller, associate professor, School of Social Welfare, for his leadership of the University’s U.S.-Africa Partnership to Build Stronger Communities
  • National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, School of Social Welfare, for its leadership as a center for excellence in workforce development for child welfare agencies
  • New York State Writers Institute, for decades of meaningful community engagement through outstanding cultural programming for members of the University community and the general public
  • Seminar in Public Criminology and David Hureau and Tyler Bellick, School of Criminal Justice, for innovative service and partnership projects that address the complexities of the criminal justice system
  • Triqui Project, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, for advancing the department’s research and teaching while preserving the language and culture of the Capital Region Triqui community (Triqui languages originate in Oaxaca, Mexico and are spoken by immigrants) for future generations
  • Mariya Zheleva, assistant professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, for her leadership in closing the connectivity gap in rural communities

For more information on The President’s Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement, please contact Mary Hunt in the Office for Public Engagement at (518) 442-3470.

Please register online to attend the ceremony and a reception in the Futterer Lounge that will precede presentation of the awards. The reception and awards ceremony are open to all.