Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement Recipients noted for public service, outreach Three faculty members, one academic professional and one student have been honored with this year’s Campus Award for Excellence in Public Engagement. The awards program, now in its fifth year, was developed to recognize people who have applied their knowledge and expertise to issues of public concern in order to improve the well-being of Illinois residents. Recipients were honored at a Sept. 22 reception. The program is an extension of the Partnership Illinois initiative and the Senate Committee on Continuing Education and Public Service.
Ted L. Funk
Ted L. Funk professor of agricultural engineering Ted L. Funk is the first person many UI Extension staff members think of when they have an engineering-related question. During his 24-year career with Extension, his goal has been to help the diligent farmer stay in business by being an unbiased source of advice, a good listener and the “engineering filter” for farmers. He has created several educational programs that focus on helping livestock farmers protect the environment while remaining profitable and sustainable members of their rural communities. In 1999, he took the traditional Extension “farm visit” to a higher level by creating UI-TERM (Teams for Environmental Response and Mitigation), which has allowed a deeper involvement from campus and field staff in farm case studies. According to the letter nominating Funk, “[his] first priority is problem solving – grass roots programming that utilizes the resources of the university – and secondly…[incorporating] an inventive engineer’s perspective.”
Gladys Hunt
Gladys D. Hunt coordinator of program development and outreach for the Psychological Services Center Gladys D. Hunt has steadily advanced the mission of the Clinical/Community Division and the department of psychology by opening the doors to the African-American community, enabling faculty members and students to carry out their research and training objectives. Her projects include assisting small business owners, working with local schools in their quest for equity and quality education for African-American students, and working with the Champaign-Urbana African-American HIV/AIDS Awareness Project. Hunt also acts as a producer and host of several local radio and television programs. She hosts a Sunday morning radio program, “Hour of Meditation,” on WEFT-FM, and is the former host of the television program “Black Perspectives,” on WILL-TV. According to the letter nominating Hunt, she is “a superb example of how to successfully apply clinical skills to the endeavor of community change.”
Adelle Renzaglia
Adelle Renzaglia professor and head of special education For the past six years, Adelle Renzaglia has worked with, among other professional organizations, the Illinois State Board of Education to shape and implement changes in the state special education teacher preparation standards. She also represented the ISBE as a member of the State Test Item Construction and Review Committee. In addition, she is a former chairperson of the ISBE subcommittee on students with special needs and has been a member of the Illinois Articulation Initiative Committee in special education since 1995. Nationally, Renzaglia has helped shaped policy in special education through her work with the Higher Education Consortium of Special Education. Under her leadership, the UI College of Education was one of the first state institutions to comprehensively implement new special education requirements. Her nomination for this award was submitted by enthusiastic colleagues who wished to acknowledge Renzaglia’s “contributions of time, talent and ideas toward shaping the direction of disability services in Illinois.”
Robert Rich
Robert F. Rich professor of law and of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs Bob Rich is known for bringing together practitioners, policymakers and academics for productive collaboration. As founding director of the Office of Public Management with the UI’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs, he led the creation of the Academy of Municipal Excellence, which provides a certificate program for mayors, city managers and other senior municipal executives in Illinois. In 2001, Rich helped develop the Illinois Advanced Judicial Academy Program for the Illinois Supreme Court. Also, his leadership forums and executive training programs for police officers are highly regarded throughout the state. Rich is a member of the Regional Institute for Community Policing and served 10 years as a board member of the news magazine “Illinois Issues.” He is a board member of the Illinois Learning Laboratory for Advanced Strategic Management, the Provena Health Foundation, and the Warren and Clara Cole Foundation.
STUDENT WINNER: Richard F. Bajner Jr. department of health planning and administration
