April 2026 Newsletter

UConn's team at the Big East Undergraduate Research Symposium earned top honors. From left: Office of Undergraduate Research Director Micah Heumann, and Katarina Kalajzic ’26, Hailey DeWalt '26, Ademide Ogunsina '26, UConn President Radenka Maric, Malak Nechnach '26, Anja Kearney ’26, Wyeth Haddock '26, Vice Provost and Honors Program Director Jennifer Lease Butts. (Contributed photo)

The Office of Outreach and Engagement is excited to publish its first annual report. Please take a moment to look at the different milestones for year 2024-2025.

Group Of Retired Seniors Attending Art Class In Community Centre With Teacher. Source: UConn Today

UConn faculty and staff are invited to join the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Working Group—a collaborative space dedicated to advancing age-friendly initiatives across our campuses.

This group aims to foster cross-campus collaboration, share resources, and provide updates on ongoing AFU efforts. Meetings will be held quarterly and are open to all faculty and staff interested in promoting inclusive, age-friendly practices at UConn. UConn has been an Age-Friendly University member since 2025.

The working group is led by Lisa Kenyon-Pesce, Recruitment and Community Engagement Core Manager at the Center on Aging, UConn Health, and the UConn OAIC Pepper Center at UConn Health, with support from the Office of Outreach and Engagement.

Meeting Topics Include:

• Advancing AFU Principles: Share ongoing work aligned with the 10 AFU principles and explore ways to evaluate and strengthen age-friendly practices across campuses.
• Community Outreach & Engagement: Highlight opportunities to connect and collaborate with older adult communities.
• Policy Development: Support the development and enhancement of university policies focused on accessibility, inclusion, and engagement for older adults.

Please email Lisa Kenyon-Pesce at kenyon-pesce@uchc.edu or engagement@uconn.edu with any questions.

Join us as we celebrate the four recipients of the 2026 Krimerman Community Engagement Grant. During the event, our student awardees will share insights about their community-engaged projects, and we will reflect on the lasting legacy of Mr. Krimerman and his impact at UConn.

Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by April 15, 2026. (Space is limited to the first 30 registrants.

Looking to learn more about community engagement at UConn, gain fresh insights, or explore new ideas?

Our growing library of on-demand webinars brings expert knowledge straight to you. Whether you're interested in professional development or practical strategies for community engagement you can apply right away, there’s something here for you.

Why watch?

• Learn from experienced professionals and thought leaders
• Access content anytime, anywhere
• Walk away with actionable tools and ideas

Browse the full webinar collection at https://outreach.engagement.uconn.edu/webinars/

Engagement Scholarship Consortium

The 2026 Call for Nominations will end on May 1, 2026.

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) supports and encourages excellence in community-engaged scholarship through its annual ESC Awards Program.

The annual Awards Program recognizes higher education institutions and their exemplary contributions to scholarship and the practice of engaged scholarship. The 2026 ESC Awards of Excellence in Engaged Scholarship will recognize exemplary institutional programs in the following categories: Student, Faculty, Outreach and Engagement Professional, Community Partner, Distinguished Dissertation, Institutional Leadership, and Distinguished Engaged Scholar.

In 2026, ESC will hold its Awards and Recognition Ceremony during the Annual Conference (October 7 - 8, 2026). In addition to participation in the Awards and Recognition program, category winners will be invited to share their exemplary program experiences during an Award Recipients Panel presentation

Award Categories

The following categories are open for nomination or application:

• Excellence in Community Partner Engagement
• Excellence in Faculty Community Engagement
• Excellence in Outreach and Engagement
• Professional Community Engagement
• Excellence in Student Community Engagement
• Distinguished Dissertation.

Nomination link

Nominate an engaged student for the

2026-2027 Newman Civic Fellowship

Campus Compact is now accepting nominations for the 2026-2027 Newman Civic Fellowship, a yearlong program that recognizes and supports outstanding community­-committed students at Campus Compact member institutions.

The fellowship is an in-depth opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to nurture their passions, engage in collaborative action, and address issues that matter to them. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides in-person and virtual learning opportunities to build the skills fellows need to serve as effective agents of change.

Please contact Vincent Moscardelli at vin.moscardelli@uconn.edu for more information

Take advantage of these workshops and events offered exclusively to university members.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and grow.

• This award is a partnership between Global Affairs and InCHIP and provides funding for a pilot study conducted by UConn Faculty in the area of human and planetary health. This call is part of a broader university-wide initiative on mindfulness, spirituality, and planetary health (see: https://global.uconn.edu/mindfulness-spirituality-planetary-health/).

• Proposals should examine the ways the natural environment impacts human physical and emotional health, including explorations of the impact of nature on human health and well-being. Studies that explore the impact of environment-related policy change on human health are also welcome.

• The project funded through this mechanism should act as a preliminary stage that informs a proposal for external funding. As part of the application package, applicants will be required to identify an external funding opportunity appropriate for the proposed work and provide a link to the opportunity.

• One award of $40,000 is available through this competition. Priority will be given to pre-tenure faculty or an MPI team that includes at least one pre-tenure faculty member.



• Applications are due by April 24th, 2026. Submit proposals through the form below

Calling all UConn faculty and staff for funding opportunities for research focused on human rights.

Not limited to faculty or staff with a direct affiliation with Human Rights, we welcome all undertaking research projects with broad implications for human rights.

Applications are open now and close on April 17.

(Neag School)

UConn’s Neag School of Education, Department of English, and Connecticut Writing Project (CWP), co-sponsors of the 33rd annual Letters About Literature contest, are proud to announce Connecticut’s winners for the 2025-26 academic year.

Each year, students in grades four through 12 are invited to read a text, broadly defined, and write a letter to the author (living or dead) about how the text personally affected them. Submissions are grouped according to grade level (grades four to six; grades seven and eight; and grades nine to 12).

All submissions were read and scored by Neag School alumni volunteers and teachers affiliated with CWP. Of the 807 submissions from Connecticut students this year, 75 were recognized as semifinalists.

Read more here.