CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Outstanding individual and group outreach efforts were recognized with the 2020 Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement. The awards spotlight faculty members and staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who have consistently applied their knowledge and expertise to issues for the public good.
Kathryn Clancy, a professor of anthropology, was honored with the Distinguished Award for Excellence in Public Engagement for her contributions to promote inclusivity within the scientific community.
Clancy’s public work has been highly influential in creating awareness of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. She was a co-author of the National Academy of Sciences report on sexual harassment, which helped define a new era in how academic institutions respond to sexual harassment. Some significant ripple effects of her work include legislative bills, congressional briefings on legislative mechanisms to address sexual harassment, and continued journalistic and professional attention on the issue of harassment in academia.
Additionally, Clancy has been at the forefront in training scientists in effective public engagement and communication. She founded 21st Century Scientists, a program that teaches scientists to engage with the public through multiple formats and effective communication. Her blog and podcast series regularly reaches large audiences – a testament to her profound leadership within the scientific community.
Elizabeth Kirchgesner, an office support specialist in the College of Education, was honored with the Emerging Award for Excellence in Public Engagement for her dedication to public engagement.
Elizabeth Kirchgesner, an office support specialist for the Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, was honored for her work with the Public Engagement Portal, a database that effectively communicates university opportunities available to the public.
Since joining the Office for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education team 20 years ago, Kirchgesner is known for her immense understanding of the public landscape within the university community. She developed and moderates the Public Engagement Portal, a database that effectively communicates university opportunities available to the public. She provides extensive training for moderators and performs regular data integrity reviews to help update features on the site.
Her passion for benefiting others has enhanced the public’s awareness of a wide range of engagement activities involving the university. By utilizing various communication channels, Kirchgesner has helped the university stay connected to families and community organizations. Overall, her dedication has supplied a vast amount of knowledge and resources to help the university contribute to the public good.
Christopher Menard, a licensed clinical psychologist who co-directs the mindfulness services and instructor training in psychology, was awarded the Emerging Award for Excellence in Public Engagement for his dedication to providing mindfulness education to the community.
Christopher Menard, a clinical assistant professor in psychology, was recognized for his work with mindfulness instruction for teachers and students.
Menard is a founding board member of Mindful Teacher Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that provides mindfulness instruction to educators. Menard’s early support and guidance were critically important to the founding of the organization, where he facilitated collaborations to help support strategic goals. Additionally, Menard developed and piloted mindfulness curriculum and training for teachers and helped develop the training curriculum for the Mindful Teacher Mindful Kids program.
Menard enables greater reach of the practice of mindfulness with and beyond the university by developing strong partnerships with community organizations, students and teachers. He has led mindfulness training classes since 2011 for numerous community groups, including U. of I. staff, faculty members and graduate students, Champaign-Urbana K-12 teachers and University Laboratory High School students. His continual efforts to bridge scholarship, education and outreach have left a lasting impact on the lives of many.
Vishal Sachdev, the director of Illinois MakerLab and a clinical assistant professor in business administration, was honored with the Emerging Award for Excellence in Public Engagement for his local, national and global contributions with MakerLab.
Vishal Sachdev, a clinical assistant professor in business administration, was honored for his leadership of the Illinois MakerLab.
Through Sachdev’s leadership, MakerLab expanded its reach to provide maker education and opportunities for all. As part of the lab’s mission, Sachdev facilitates resources and outreach activities to various student organizations, campus departments, community organizations and businesses, in addition to Illinois students, middle school students and high school students.
As the first lab in the country specializing in the teaching and outreach of 3D printing technology at a business school, MakerLab continues to democratize education through access to technology on a global scale. Through online courses and partnerships, Sachdev fostered collaborations that digitally expanded the lab’s influence. The combination of local, national and global outreach contributed to Illinois MakerLab being recognized by the White House during the National Week of Making in 2015.
Wendy Bartlo, assistant director of the Center on Health, Aging and Disability, is a leader for Age-Friendly Champaign-Urbana, which received the team award for excellence in public engagement.
Age-Friendly Champaign-Urbana was honored with the Team Award for Excellence in Public Engagement. Led by Wendy Bartlo of the College of Applied Health Sciences and Jeff Woods of kinesiology, the initiative demonstrates the significant impact of university and community partnerships.
Age-Friendly Champaign-Urbana was founded in 2016 as a cooperative venture between the Center on Health, Aging and Disability and a group of community leaders. The initiative seeks to make cities more livable to residents of all ages. Focused on transportation, housing, outdoor spaces, buildings, health services, communication, civic participation, employment, social participation and inclusion, the effort aims to achieve “age-friendly” community status for the cities of Champaign and Urbana based on guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
Jeff Woods, a kinesiology professor and the director of the Center on Health, Aging and Disability, is a leader for Age-Friendly Champaign-Urbana, which received the team award for excellence in public engagement.
With the support and leadership of Bartlo and Woods, Age-Friendly Champaign-Urbana has fostered research, mentorship and engagement between the university and the local community. The centralization of planning efforts promotes efficiency within planning and outreach processes. Overall, their leadership continues to set the groundwork for maintaining relationships with different community leaders and organizations that will support the local area for years to come.
Learn more about the 2020 Celebration of Academic Service and Leadership Excellence.
