As part of OSU's commitment to being a fully engaged university, the OSU Engagement Awards of Excellence were created to recognize faculty, staff, and community partners for their efforts to develop programs or projects that adhere to the principles of community engagement and engaged scholarship. This includes reciprocal and mutually beneficial outcomes that address key societal issues and contribute to the inclusive prosperity of OSU’s internal and external stakeholders.
Awards are sponsored by the Division of Extension and Engagement, with support from the Office of the Provost.
Award winners
Community Engaged Scholarship Team Award
2025
OSU’s Puerto Rico Service-Learning Initiative, which has connected students with community organizations across the island through multi-year, faculty-led courses. Team leads include:
- Rachel Jones, director of student engagement, College of Agricultural Sciences
- Wanda Crannell, advisor and instructor, BioResource Research, College of Agricultural Sciences
- Doris Cancel-Tirado, associate dean for student services and well-being, College of Health
2024
Promoting and Advancing Training of High Desert School Counselors (PATH-SC) partnership – Led by Lucy Purgason, associate professor of counseling at Oregon State University – Cascades, the initiative addresses a critical need in Central Oregon by ensuring that rural, high-need schools have access to qualified and culturally responsive school counselors. Additional team members include:
- Molly Moran, clinical assistant professor of counseling, OSU-Cascades
- Jim Boen, regional director of mental and behavioral health, High Desert Education Service District
- Jennifer Hauth, director of social, emotional and mental well-being, Bend-LaPine Schools
- Tami Nakamura, director of student support, Redmond School District
- Kevin Gehrig, director of student services, Jefferson County School District
- Joel Hoff, assistant superintendent, Crook County School District
2023
Oregon Coastal Futures Project – A transdisciplinary team of OSU researchers, Extension specialists and students who worked with a diverse community advisory council, the project helps coastal communities prepare for earthquakes, tsunamis, storms and rising sea levels. Its team members include:
- Peter Ruggiero, professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
- John Bolte, professor and head of the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences
- Patrick Corcoran, associate professor emeritus in in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, retired Oregon Sea Grant Extension coal hazards specialist
- Daniel T. Cox, professor and director of the Cascadia Lifelines Project in the College of Engineering
- Steven J. Dundas, associate professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences and researcher at the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station
- Felicia Olmeta Schult, professor of practice in in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and Oregon Sea Grant Extension coastal hazards specialist
- Jenna Tilt, assistant professor in in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
OSU-Community Partnership Engagement Award
2025
The East Cascades Native Plant Hub, which is tackling a national shortage of native plant materials essential for post-wildfire restoration and ecological recovery. Team members include:
- Matt Shinderman, associate professor of teaching, OSU-Cascades and College of Agricultural Sciences
- Hannah Johnson, biological science research technician, HERS Lab
- David Cevallos, postdoctoral researcher, HERS Lab
- Emily Zamarripa, plant propagation specialist, HERS Lab
- Matt Van Ess, restoration project coordinator, HERS Lab
- Noah Koker, lead field technician, HERS Lab
- Tom Rodhouse, former ecologist, National Park Service
2024
Oregon Whale Entanglement Project – When Oregon’s largest commercial fishery faced rising reports of whale entanglements in crab fishing gear, a transdisciplinary team led by Leigh Torres, associate professor in the Marine Mammal Institute and Oregon Sea Grant Extension specialist, developed best practices guidelines for the fishery and identified the knowledge gap about whale distribution patterns. Then, Oregon State partnered with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the fishery and the U.S. Coast Guard to identify high-risk areas and seasons for entanglement, which has informed new regulations. Additional team members included:
- Amanda Gladics, assistant professor of practice and Oregon Sea Grant Extension specialist
- Solène Derville, research associate, Marine Mammal Institute
- Lindsay Wickman, marine research technician, Marine Mammal Institute
- Craig Hayslip, aerial survey lead, Marine Mammal Institute
- Troy Buell, Kelly Corbett and Brittany Harrington, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
2023
Indigenous Ocean and Coast – This first-of-its-kind course highlights the social and cultural aspects of Indigenous-centered ocean knowledge, history and engagement. Team members include:
- Natchee Barnd, associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts
- Buddy Lane, cultural education manager for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
- Peter Hatch, historical researcher/cultural resources technician for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
- Itchung Cheung, academic program manager for the Hatfield Marine Science Center
Extension and Engagement Award
Announced each September at University Day, this award recognizes an individual faculty member’s significant and meritorious work that enhances reciprocal learning with students, partners or stakeholders.
2025
Nordica MacCarty, associate professor of mechanical engineering and Richard and Gretchen Evans Professor of Humanitarian Engineering in the College of Engineering
2024
Larry O’Neill, Oregon’s state climatologist and associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
2023
Digette McCracken, Open Campus coordinator for the Division of Extension and Engagement in Grant County