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Holiday Sing on the steps of the Hartford campus. (Jakob Lopez '20 (CLAS)/UConn Photo) | | |
As we close out the year, we extend our sincere appreciation for your continued dedication to community engagement. This issue highlights several notable accomplishments made possible through your leadership and collaboration.
On behalf of the Office of Outreach and Engagement, we wish you restful holiday season and a new year marked by meaningful work, good health, and continued connection.
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Office of Outreach & Engagement Events | | |
This workshop explores various models and approaches to community-engaged teaching and learning. It covers strategies for building reciprocal partnerships with communities, preparing students for meaningful engagement, and guiding them in reflecting on and deepening their learning through experience. Participants will learn about the services provided to support faculty in developing and teaching community-engaged learning courses and to departments seeking to increase community engagement in their curricula.
Register
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Provost's Awards for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship | | Aviral Mehta '25 (CLAS), Pratham Tallam '25 (CLAS, Faizdeenkhan Pathan '25 (CLAS)- Student Team Award Recipients - with their families. | | Professor Cristina Colon-Semenza, Award Recipient of the Community Impact Emerging category with her family. | | Milagros Marrero-Johnson, recipient of the Staff Distinguished Award, with the Dean of the School of Social Work, Laura Curran. | | |
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Provost's Awards for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship.
Let's honor individuals and partners whose collaborative work exemplifies the University of Connecticut's mission as a public institution-advancing knowledge, strengthening communities, and addressing critical societal challenges through reciprocal, impactful engagement.
Please submit your nominations by January 30, 2026, using this form.
Award Categories
✨ Student (Undergraduate & Graduate)
✨ Faculty (Research: Emerging & Distinguished)
✨ Faculty (Teaching: Emerging & Distinguished)
✨ Faculty (Community Impact)
✨ Staff
✨ Team
✨ Community Partner
✨ Institutional Transformation
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Photo of Alyssa Webb, Contributed Photo | | Alyssa Webb is a dedicated academic advisor who specializes in administering a human rights approach to educational programming. With over a decade of experience working in higher education, Alyssa knows that student retention and program growth are driven by how well educational institutions connect with and respond to the needs of the communities they serve. As HRI’s educational programming administrator, Alyssa is committed to designing and running programs that prioritize student empowerment and create unique, transformational learning opportunities that prepare our students for the dynamic, competitive post-graduate work environment. Alyssa holds a BA and an MA degree in political science, a graduate certificate in human rights, and a Ph.D. in political science. Alyssa’s graduate research has focused on economic and social rights, specifically the right to housing and the relationship between perceptions of homelessness and the mobilization of political action in the international system. | | | | |
Krimerman Community Service Grant Recipients | | Four UConn students have been awarded the Krimerman Community Service Grant. Their student-led projects reflect the program’s mission by centering self-directed work on community engagement, collaborative knowledge-building, and civic advocacy. These projects advance Professor Krimerman’s legacy by empowering students to work collaboratively with a community to address a pressing public need. | |
Name:
Nayatie Gabriel '28
Major:
Individualized Major in Equitable Health Policy
Project Mentor:
Chinenye Anyanwu, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice
About the Project:
Nayatie’s project, in collaboration with the staff at the Keney Park Sustainability Project (KPSP), proposes an Earth Day Celebration designed to promote environmental justice, strengthen community wellness, and cultivate student leadership. Read more.
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Name:
Bryce Turner '26
Major:
Anthropology and Molecular and Cellular Biology
Project Mentor:
Sarah A. Williams, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology
About the Project:
Bryce independently designed a project that examines the impact of Windham Hospital’s closure of its Labor & Delivery unit on maternal healthcare access and community trust in Willimantic.
Read more.
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Name:
Charli Hughes '28
Major:
Computer Science and Molecular and Cellular Biology
Project Mentor:
Nathaniel Rickles, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy
About the Project:
Charli partnered with the Covenant Soup Kitchen to address transportation insecurity among unhoused and housing-insecure residents of the greater Willimantic area.
Read More.
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Name:
Sam Arevalo-Hoefer '26
Major:
Anthropology and Spanish
Project Mentor:
Joshua Mayer, Assistant Professor, Anthropology and Social & Critical Inquiry, Department of Anthropology
About the Project:
Sam’s project is part of an Anthropology Honors Thesis. This project examines how shifting state and federal policies have shaped the lives of Latin American immigrants in Connecticut.
Read More.
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Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning in Action: Building Solidarity in Challenging Times | |
The Office of Outreach and Engagement—together with Trinity College’s Center for Hartford Engagement and Research and UConn Hartford Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity—hosted a full-day Community Engaged Teaching and Learning conference on November 21, 2025. Faculty, staff, and students from multiple institutions spent the day exploring ideas, practices, and partnerships that advance and strengthen community-engaged teaching and learning.
Please reach out to Christopher Ciarcia, Associate Director of Outreach and Engagement, for more information at christopher.ciarcia@uconn.edu.
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Tracking Student Volunteer Hours | | |
The Office of Outreach and Engagement is developing a tool to track student volunteer hours, and we want to ensure it meets the needs of different users across the university.
If you are currently tracking — or plan to track — student volunteer hours, we would love to hear from you. Please share your contact information via this form, and a member of our team will follow up soon.
For more information, contact: Office of Outreach and Engagement at engagement@uconn.edu
| | UConn students sit and study on the Founders Green near Wilbur Cross among the fall foliage on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Sydney Herdle/UConn Photo) | | | | | |
2025-2026 Service Learning Fellows Program | | |
Service learning is a long-established pedagogical practice that works with community partners to combine classroom learning with hands-on service in the community.
Faculty members accepted into the program will have the opportunity to engage in an intellectually stimulating environment where they can exchange ideas with a diverse group of colleagues and learn from the experiences of fellow participants. By the end of the program,
faculty will have a revised or new course syllabus along with the tools and resources necessary to implement a service-learning course effectively.
The Faculty Fellows program provides an opportunity to deepen understanding of community-engaged teaching and learning while collaborating with like-minded faculty dedicated to student learning and community engagement. Participants will receive topic-specific readings and materials before each workshop and will have access to individualized support.
Applications for the 2025-2026 cohort are due for review by the Service Learning Committee and Anne Gebelein, the Service Learning Faculty Coordinator.
Applications for the 2025-2026 cohort are due Friday, December 9, 2025
Please use this link to apply.
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Campus Compact: Annual Conference
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Each year, Campus Compact hosts an annual conference that brings together Compact members and supporters from across the country for learning, networking, and coalition-building.
Campus Compact national conferences are the largest and most inclusive national conferences focused on the role of higher education in building healthy communities and fostering a just and equal democracy.
Compact26
March 16-18, 2026 | Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, IL
Register
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Campus Compact: Host a Campus Compact Vista
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VISTA projects are hosted at Campus Compact member institutions and their community partners across the country. UConn is a member institution.
AmeriCorps members serve to build capacity for anti-poverty interventions in the areas of education, healthy futures, economic opportunity, and veterans and military families.
Each year, member campuses and their partners are invited to apply to host an AmeriCorps member by submitting project ideas that serve low-income college students, low-income K-12 students, or low-income community members, either on campus or in the surrounding community.
- Veterans & military families
- Low-income community members & college students through basic needs support
- Low-income college students through first-generation and civic engagement programming
- Low-income K-12 students through tutoring, mentoring, and college pathways programming
Host site applications are now open.
Request for Proposals and application for the 2026-27 Campus Compact VISTA program year are now live, and Campus Compact is seeking proposals from member institutions to host an AmeriCorps VISTA project.
Questions? You're welcome to join an upcoming info session if you'd like to learn more.
Priority Deadline: December 17th, 2025
Application closes: January 22nd, 2026
For inquiries about hosting a Campus Compact VISTA Member, please email: Bella McKinney, AmeriCorps VISTA Recruitment and Outreach Program Coordinator, at: bmckinney@compact.org
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Campus Compact and Engaged Scholarship Consortium Event Calendar
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UConn Grants and Scholarships | | |
Applications are open for the UConn IDEA Grant program. The UConn IDEA Grant program awards funding of up to $6,000 per student to support original, creative, innovative, self-designed projects, including:
- Artistic & creative endeavors
- Community service initiatives
- Entrepreneurial ventures & prototype development
- Research projects
Undergraduates in all majors at all UConn campuses can apply. Applications are accepted from individuals and from small groups.
Application Deadlines:
· Summer 2026 Funding: Friday, 12/5/25, 11:59 pm
· 2026-27 Academic Year Funding: Friday, 3/13/26, 11:59 pm
For more information, go to https://ugradresearch.uconn.edu/idea and contact Melissa Berkey at melissa.berkey@uconn.edu
| Cohen Student Leadership Scholarship | | |
This scholarship recognizes undergraduate members of registered student organizations who demonstrate an active commitment to 1) eliminating bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination, and 2) fostering tolerance and understanding within the UConn community. Applications close on February 3, 2026. If you know a student who fits this description, please consider nominating them—it only takes about 10 minutes. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship yourself, we encourage you to do so!
For more information, visit the website: https://cohenscholarship.uconn.edu/
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The Center for Access and Postsecondary Success (CAPS/SSS) supports students holistically.
As winter approaches, we would love your help supporting CAPS students in need of Winter coats, jackets, gloves, scarves, socks, and hats, as well as nonperishable foods for our CAPS food pantry. CAPS is looking to collect these items to distribute to students starting on December 1st and throughout the remainder of the semester. If you have any gently used clothing or food items you would like to donate, please reach out to Fiorela Hidalgo (fiorela.hidalgo@uconn.edu) or Kimberly Duhart (kimberly.duhart@uconn.edu), or find them in Rowe 231.
- Pasta
- Pasta Sauce
- Pouches of rice
- Beans
- Soup
- Canned Tuna/canned meat
- Cereal/ Oatmeal
- Crackers
- Peanut butter/jelly
- Canned vegetables
- Canned fruit
- Mac and cheese
- Water
- Juice
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The Alliance for Incarcerated Women (AIW) is coordinating a nationwide hygiene drive to support women in correctional facilities across multiple states. This student-led initiative offers an opportunity for college groups, nonprofits, and community organizations to participate in a practical, high-impact effort that promotes dignity, health, and solidarity.
About the Drive:
Each participating campus or organization commits to collecting at least 100 approved hygiene items (e.g., shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, sanitary pads) to benefit women in custody. All donations must be new, unopened, and individually packaged. AIW provides a detailed list of approved items, flyers, and shipping instructions.
Guidelines:
- Bar soap (unscented or lightly scented)
- Shampoo and conditioner (plastic bottles, under facility size limits)
- Toothpaste and toothbrushes (individually wrapped)
- Menstrual pads (no tampons unless facility-approved)
- Deodorant (solid stick, not spray)
Why It Matters:
For many incarcerated women, access to basic hygiene products is limited or unaffordable. This drive helps fill that gap—while raising awareness about the conditions of confinement and mobilizing students to make a tangible difference in the lives of hundreds of women.
Who’s Participating:
This year’s drive includes campuses such as Cornell, Yale, UC Irvine, Howard, George Washington University, Villanova, and Washington University in St. Louis, with new partners joining in Texas, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania.
This event is in partnership with the Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative out of the UConn Hartford Campus. Please deliver all hygiene products to Suite 443 on the 4th floor. For more information, contact: Ariana Azerrad Zevallos at ariana.azerrad@uconn.edu
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#Community Engagement - UConn Today | |
As Bloomfield marks its 190th anniversary, a UConn research team is helping preserve the stories that define the town’s cultural identity, capturing the voices of residents who built their lives there in the 20th century.
On Oct. 30, residents gathered at the Alvin and Beatrice Wood Human Services Center for the opening of “Bloomfield Mosaic: Stories from our Jewish, African American, and West Indian Communities.” The exhibition was created in partnership with UConn Engaged, Public, Oral, and Community Histories (EPOCH), led by Fiona Vernal, associate professor of history and Africana studies and associate director of the Africana Studies Institute.
Read more here.
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