Story by Office of Engagement. Originally published on SOURCE.

CSU Community Engagement Scholarship Awards for BSHARP, Center for Community Partnerships

At the annual Celebrate! Colorado State University event, two CSU-community programs received the inaugural CSU Community Engagement Scholarship Awards. The awards are an initiative of the Provost’s Council for Engagement, jointly established by the Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President and the Office of Engagement. The Council was formed to advance the practice and recognition of engaged scholarship at CSU.

“We’re pleased to increase campus awareness of the excellent work done with our community partners,” said Dr. Rick Miranda, CSU Provost and Executive Vice President. “Engagement opens up new areas for scholarship and creates real-world, experiential learning opportunities for students.” Added Vice President for Engagement Lou Swanson, “When partners work together to achieve mutual benefits, the resulting programs enrich communities and universities.”

BSHARP, a cross-university partnership that includes the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Fort Collins Symphony, received the Emerging Partnership Award. Read the CSU SOURCE BSHARP 2017 Article.

The Center for Community Partnerships (CCP), administered by the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Health and Human Sciences, received the Distinguished Partnership Award. CCP has multiple community and university-based programs serving community members and CSU students, including student veterans. Key to the success of all of CCP’s programs are the real-world, reciprocal community partnerships which inform best practices through the Center.

“We’ve worked with the Center for more than 30 years,” said Tiffany Link, a rehabilitation supervisor in the Northern Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. “In the mid-80s, the CCP was one of the first programs in the country to develop a supported employment program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Together we’ve created evidence-based training for employees and employers that make career success, including higher education success, possible for students with autism, brain injury, and other disabilities.”

“We were gratified to receive multiple award nominations from nearly every CSU college,” said Paula Mills, who coordinates the Provost’s Council for Engagement. “It can be challenging to create a project that is mutually beneficial for scholars, communities, and students. This work exemplifies the relevance of the land-grant university and CSU’s ongoing contribution to healthy communities.”