Call for Nominations for Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship

Members of the University community are invited to submit nominations for the 2019 Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship (CAPES). The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 8. [Editor’s note (March 7, 2019): The deadline for submissions has been extended to Monday, March 18, at 5 p.m.]

The CAPES award recognizes two students—one undergraduate and one graduate—who have significantly engaged in their community as part of a dynamic learning experience. The honor is one of the awards that will be presented at the One University Awards Ceremony on Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m.

Syracuse University is committed to promoting opportunities that can create positive change in the community, while advancing knowledge and increasing interconnectedness—and CAPES recognizes those students who are helping to create that change, says Pamela Kirwin Heintz, associate vice president, director of the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service, and co-chair of the selection committee.

“We are looking for engagement that has been impactful, has demonstrated the student’s leadership abilities and has furthered them academically,” Heintz says. “It could be a course or another way of engaging with the community that has been a focused, sustained commitment over their time at Syracuse University.”

To broaden the scope of the award, Chancellor Kent Syverud has appointed two additional representatives to the CAPES selection committee this year: Bea González, vice president for community engagement, special assistant to the Chancellor and co-chair of the committee, and Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel.

“The CAPES award is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the connections our students are making with the community and the tremendous scholarship that takes place through these connections,” González says. “We want to continue to build on its success to include additional community engagement touch points and Hendricks Chapel in establishing a sustainable foundation for the long-term growth of the CAPES program.”

First presented in 1992, the award grew out of an interest among students working with Syracuse University Students for the United Way to honor fellow students for their contributions to the community. The CAPES award furthers that objective.

Nominations may be submitted to the CAPES online nomination form or via hard copy form. Questions may be directed to shawcenter@syr.edu.

Hard copy forms may be obtained at and submitted to the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service, 237 Schine Center. Nominations must be limited to no more than two (2) typed double-spaced pages, or to the space on the nomination form. Please label each page with the nominee’s name. Photographs may be included with the nomination form, and additional information or attachments will be accepted.

Members of the selection committee are the following:

• Charles W. Beach ’58, G’67, University Life Trustee
• Colleen Cicotta, associate director for initiatives, Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service
• Simone Girma, a senior majoring in television, radio and film and citizenship and civic engagement in the Newhouse School, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Maxwell School
• Bea González, vice president for community engagement and special assistant to the Chancellor (co-chair)
• Pamela Kirwin Heintz, associate vice president, director of the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service (co-chair)
• Briyana Henry, a junior majoring in social work in the Falk College, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and an Our Time Has Come Scholar
• Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel
• Sarah Redmore, associate director for community engagement, Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York state, with a global footprint and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience, as well as innovative online learning environments. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths. At Syracuse University, we offer a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges and 18 online degree programs. We have more than 15,000 undergraduates and 7,500 graduate students, more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, visit syracuse.edu.