Center for Civic Engagement Recognizes Engaged Students, Employees and Community Partners
Pacific University’s Center for Civic Engagement held its annual Community Collaboration Celebration on April 28 to recognize the numerous community service efforts of students, faculty, staff and local partners over the past year.
President Lesley Hallick joined CCE director Stephanie Stokamer and Diversity Office director Alfonso Lopez-Vasquez in recognizing all 15 nominees for the four annual service awards presented by the Center for Civic Engagement.
Several students were among the nominees for the Student Impact Award, including Sonja Arroyo, Sierra Barnes, Kelly Bjordahl, Emma Ferns, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and 2015 winner Claire Ramaley.
A recent Pacific graduate and resident of Elk Grove, Calif., Ramaley immersed herself into several clubs and organizations at Pacific, holding officer positions in the Colleges Against Cancer Relay for Life, Psychology Club and Unified Sports.
She also served as team captain of the Boxer Women’s Golf team and worked for the local Companion Program, assisting young adults with disabilities in social settings to help them become more independent. Ramaley also worked with the Special Olympics of Oregon, participating as a unified partner and as an assistant and head coach for various sports.
Nominees for the Engaged Faculty Award include Jim Moore (Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation, Politics & Government), Phil Ruder (Economics), Dawn Salgado (Psychology), Don Schweitzer (Social Work), and 2015 winner Jessica Hardin (Sociology-Anthropology).
Dr. Hardin is a medical anthropologist whose research focuses on the intersection of religion and health in Samoa. She works with community partners to incorporate Samoan perspectives into health interventions and teaches a course titled, “Medicine, Body and Culture,” which shows students to conduct research on health issues. Additionally, Hardin incorporates community engagement activities into all of her courses using field trips and social media to address social problems.
Engaged Staff Award nominees include Martha Tunall of Admissions and award recipient David Knaus, a farmer educator within the School of Social Sciences.
Knaus has practiced and taught solutions-based regenerative agricultural techniques for more than 15 years, and routinely consults on working agricultural projects locally and nationally. He has developed a farm-based learning center for children, set up an agricultural training program for military veterans and donates thousands of pieces of produce each year to charities, including the Oregon Food Bank, Meals on Wheels and faith-based groups.
The Center for Civic Engagement also recognized three nominees for its Community Partner Award: the Hillsboro School District, Pacific University Mentor Program (PUMP It Up!) and 2015 award winner Care Partners.
Formerly known as Hospice of Washington County, Care Partners supported Pacific University students and programs in a number of ways throughout the past academic year. Chief Executive Officer Andy Kyler lent his expertise to the School of Pharmacy through class presentations and by helping students land internship opportunities. Care Partners social services and spiritual director Tracy Villarreal served on the Pacific’s Social Workers Advisory Board, mentored numerous public health student interns and participated in several forum panels at the university. Health Care Partnerships director Kelley Stember supported Pacific marketing coursework by providing students with hands-on learning projects to complete and present.