Richard J. Wood Student Community Commitment Award Application
Funded by Michael and Betsy Wood on behalf of the Richard J. Wood Family, the Wood Student Community Commitment Award was created in 1996 in honor of Dr. Richard J. Wood, who served as the founding chairperson of Indiana Campus Compact’s, now Community-Engaged Alliance, Board of Presidents from 1992 to 1996. This award honors students who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to community engagement and continues Dr. Wood's legacy as an advocate of students as stewards to the community.
Eligibility
To receive this competitive award, nominees must be an enrolled as students at a Community-Engaged Alliance member institution (undergraduate, graduate, or pre-professional) with at least 6-months remaining prior to graduation as of September.
Timeline
- Nominations Due: September 18, 2026
- Peer-Review: September 19 – October 2, 2026
- Recipient Announced: November 6 – 2026 Idea to Action Incubator
- Awardee Engagement: November 2026 through May 2027
Nomination Process
All nominations/self-nominations must be submitted electronically via the Community-Engaged Alliance GivePulse page.
Nomination Requirements
Application Packet
- Nomination Form
- Personal Statement (required)
- Describe the nominee’s understanding of community engagement, how their efforts have brought about positive change, and how they have influenced others to work with local communities (e.g., community organizations, local communities, community members).
- Discuss how the nominee’s involvement in community engagement has encouraged them to develop a better understanding of how they can contribute to shared interests and common goals with community partners.
- Evidence of Community Engagement (required)
- Provide a brief overview of the nominee’s community engagement activities. This may include direct work with community organizations/members, supporting others’ work with community engagement, departmental community engagement initiatives, community-based teaching activities, or community-based research activities.
- Highlights of Accomplishments(optional)
- List awards won, recognitions received, publications, grants awarded, or other accomplishments.
- Letters of Recommendation/Nomination (Optional)
- Attach any letters of recommendation or nomination from faculty, staff, students, or community partners.
Review Criteria
Nominees are reviewed based on the following criteria:
- Articulation of their understanding of community engagement and how community engagement has been
integrated throughout their curricular and co-curricular experiences. - Evidence of their development as a civic-minded leader, and their ability to foster civic growth and development
among their peers. - Evidence of how their community-engaged learning has led to leadership on campus and in the community.
Award Recipient Engagement
Community-Engaged Alliance will highlight the work and engage the award recipient in the following ways (October to May):
- Announced at the 2025 Annual Retreat. All nominees are asked to attend.
- Showcase award recipients in the following ways:
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- Present or serve as a facilitator/moderator during the 2026 Annual Retreat
- Present their research and/or program models via webinar and expert lecture sessions.
Award Materials
Award winners will be presented with an award plaque and a $500 cash gift. This cash gift is payable after the recipient’s w-9 is received.
View highlights of previous recipients and learn more about the Richard J. Wood Student Community Commitment Award.