Mary Kay Kisthardt
Professor, School of Law
Her years of service on the Children’s Mercy Hospital Ethics Committee “lends expertise, commitment and compassion to this committee, which by its very nature requires the discretion that prevents bragging rights.”
Title: Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Community Engagement
Established: October 2009
Description: This award recognizes and celebrates UMKC faculty, staff, departments, units and campus organizations that have made engagement with the community a central aspect of their approach to student learning and scholarship.
Purpose: To recognize a UMKC faculty member, staff member, department, unit, or campus organization for outstanding engagement in public problem-solving and excellence in scholarship that addresses critical community concerns or leadership in academic service-learning.
Eligibility: Full-time UMKC faculty and staff, or a UMKC department, unit or organization.
Nature of award: One $1500 award plus commemorative wall plaque distributed annually.
Qualifying Criteria:
Faculty and staff must demonstrate:
Departments, units, and organizations must demonstrate:
Nomination process: Candidates are nominated via an open call for nominations from the University community, including students, faculty, staff and self-nominations. Faculty/staff nomination materials include: 1) a letter of nomination from the nominating individual detailing the nominee’s unique qualifications for the award based upon the qualifying criteria above; 2) Nominee’s current CV; and 3) a letter of support from the community members affected by the individual. Department/Unit/Organization nomination materials include: 1)an overview of the unit, its mission and goals, and a brief history demonstrating sustained community involvement and impact based upon the qualifying criteria above; 2) letter of support from Dean (department/unit) or Advisor/Sponsor (organization). Send electronic nomination materials to Provost Office prior to deadline via email to: awards@umkc.edu
Deadline for Submission of Nomination Materials: November 1 annually. Send electronic nomination materials to Provost Office via email to: awards@umkc.edu
Selection Process: The Provost will create a Service/Engagement Awards Selections Committee to review all service and engagement award nominations. The committee will be composed of nine members who have a demonstrated commitment to diversity and community engagement: two members from the Faculty Senate, two members from the Staff Council, two members from the office of Diversity, Access and Equity, one undergraduate student, one graduate and/or professional school student, and one additional member selected by the Provost. The Provost will appoint chair. Selections Committee members will serve three-year, staggered terms with the exception of students who serve for 1 year. The Selections Committee will meet at least once annually to review all nomination materials, meeting as often as necessary to determine the most qualified recipient based upon the guidelines above and submit its recommendation to the Provost prior to December 31.
The Provost and Chancellor will make the final decision based upon the committee’s recommendations. The Chancellor will announce the award recipients at a spring semester award ceremony. The Selections Committee may recommend that outstanding but unsuccessful nominations be carried forward for one or, in exceptional cases, two years. Such nominations could be updated if the nominator so chooses, but this is not required. In such cases, the nominators should be notified.
The Provost will assign a non-voting staff coordinator to accept, assemble and distribute nominations materials, coordinate committee meetings, track award details for Web site posting and communications announcements, order commemorative plaque, and obtain award check for presentation to recipient.
Award Date: Awards will be presented prior to April 30.
Recognition: Recipient will be recognized on the UMKC Awards Web site, and presented with award check and commemorative plaque at appropriate UMKC awards event.