Three members of the Carleton College community, student Eunice Valenzeula ’21, Professors Kelly Connole and Susannah Ottaway, Co-Directors of Public Works, and the Community Action Center of Northfield, have been recognized by Minnesota Campus Compact for their leadership in the development of campus-community partnerships.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Election, climate change, and the ongoing national reckoning for racial justice have renewed purpose and solidified commitments to civic and community engagement. In 2021, Iowa & Minnesota Campus Compact awards were given in the following categories:
The Presidents’ Student Leadership Award: Eunice Valenzeula ’21. Through diligence and passion, CCCE fellow Eunice transformed a public-facing website that documents an ongoing Participatory Action Research project and serves as a repository of PAR resources in Spanish, Somali, and English. She has conducted extensive research to gather and translate materials in Spanish, expanding accessibility for future community researchers.
The Presidents’ Civic Engagement Leadership Award: Professors Kelly Connole and Susannah Ottaway, Co-Directors of Public Works. Through the Mellon-funded Public Works initiative, the co-directors have ignited a vibrant flourishing of public scholarship in the arts and humanities at Carleton. They’ve made possible individual projects and complex campus-wide initiatives, all of which have drawn on Dr.Professor Connole and Dr. Ottaway’s creative, strategic, and purposeful leadership.
The Presidents’ Community Partner Award: The Community Action Center of Northfield collaborates with Carleton to address life-sustaining needs. We co-create solutions through ACE courses (heat mapping, GIS), co-curricular programs (food recovery network), and campus (Empty Bowls) and community events (mass food distributions). Their response to the pandemic and impact in the community is tremendous.