The University of St. Thomas

Annual Awards

Service-Learning Awards


St. Thomas Service-Learning Award

Every year a faculty member and student are presented with this award for their excellence in service learning.

Winners of the Faculty Service-Learning Award:

  • 1999 Paul Lorah
  • 2000 Carol Bruess
  • 2001 Mike Klein
  • 2002 Randy Herman
  • 2003 Tim Scully
  • 2004 Bernard Brady
  • 2005 Shirley Polejewski
  • 2006 Kimberly Vrudny
  • 2007 Camille George
  • 2008 Susan Myers

Winners of the Student Service-Learning Award:

  • 2000 Julia Hatler
  • 2004 Letitia Englund
  • 2005 Jackie Radunz
  • 2006 Anna Donnelly
  • 2007 Stephanie Rose
  • 2008 Joshua Kallerud

The Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award

The Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award  is named in honor of Thomas Ehrlich, past chair of the Executive Committee of Campus Compact and President Emeritus of Indiana University.

The award is presented annually to one faculty member in the United States by Campus Compact. Campus Compact is a coalition of college and university presidents committed to helping students develop the values and skills of citizenship through participation in public and community service.

The award recognizes a faculty member whose teaching, scholarship and leadership -- both on campus and in the community -- exemplify exceptional service-learning practices. Service-learning is an educational method through which students actively participate in community-based projects.

National Service-learning Award Nominations from the University of St. Thomas:

  • 2003: Dr. Amy Muse
  • 2002: Dr. Randy Herman
  • 2001: Dr. Ellen Kennedy
  • 2000: Dr. Carol Bruess

Sister Pat Kowalski Leadership Award

Sister Pat Kowalski Leadership Award was created to recognize individuals who share the vision and skills for strategically moving service-learning and civic engagement forward on a particular college or university campus.  Minnesota Campus Compact, the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and the Minnesota Private College Council jointly offer this award in memory of Sr. Pat Kowalski, O.S.M.

Kowalski served as director of Community Partnerships at the University of St. Thomas from 1992 until her death in 1999.  At the time of her death, Kowalski was the only service-learning and community partnerships director to serve on the administrative cabinet of her institution, and she played a major role in the growth of St. Thomas' efforts in this area.  She was also an advocate of mobilizing a wide variety of campus resources, including students, staff and faculty, and strategically coordinating all these efforts to better serve the surrounding community. Such vision is consistent with Minnesota Campus Compact's new Engaged Campus vision.

Minnesota Campus Compact continues to invest in building the capacity of leaders in the field, including recognizing exemplary leadership through this award program.

The Award

Every two years, beginning in 2000, the Sister Pat Kowalski Leadership Award is presented to four recipients.  Any student, faculty member, administrator or staff person at a Minnesota college or university is eligible for the award.  One individual is selected from each of the following types of higher education institutions:

  • University of Minnesota;
  • State universities;
  • Community and technical colleges;
  • Private colleges and universities.

Criteria For Selection

Award recipients are selected based on the nominees':

  • commitment to building high-quality, high-impact service-learning and civic engagement initiatives;
  • success at building strategic, reciprocal, long-term partnerships; and
  • success in catalyzing institutional change necessary to sustain and grow these efforts.

The Nomination Process

Anyone can nominate an individual for this award.

To nominate someone, send a typed letter of no more than three pages describing how the nominee fits the criteria above, including specific outcomes of her or his work.  Please also include the name, address, telephone number and email address of both the nominator and the nominee.

Minnesota Campus Compact
Suite 280
2356 University Ave. W.
St. Paul, MN  55114-1851

Phone: (651) 603-5083
Fax: (651) 603-5093