Campus Compact is pleased to announce that Dr. Jamilah (Jamie) Ducar, executive director of the engaged campus at the University of Pittsburgh, has been awarded Campus Compact’s Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award. The award celebrates the ethical leadership and advocacy demonstrated by Community Engagement Professionals. Recipients have demonstrated collaboration with communities focused on transformative change; a commitment to justice-oriented work; and an impact on the larger movement to build ethical and effective community engagement locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
The award is named in honor of Nadinne Cruz, an innovative leader of community-based experiential learning and a pioneer of the movement for the public purposes of higher education. The Nadinne Cruz Award celebrates the ethical leadership and advocacy demonstrated by Community Engagement Professionals.
Ducar is recognized for her campus- and field-wide efforts and commitment to collaborating with communities to create transformative change. As a key leader on her campus, Ducar ensures the University of Pittsburgh is a visible and responsive partner with local communities by leading innovative and collaborative initiatives that engage countless community partners in meaningful capacities. In addition to her impressive portfolio of community engagement efforts, it is evident that Ducar demonstrates an exceptional commitment to ethics and justice and is an exemplar for other community engagement professionals.
“I have more than two decades of experience facilitating community engagement within higher education and, in that time, Jamie is the most astute, ethical, and effective community engagement professional that I have had the privilege to work with,” said Lina Dostilio, vice chancellor of engagement and community affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, in a letter nominating Ducar for the award. “Her excellence in administration is only surpassed by her commitment to ethical and just engagement. She excels in fostering authentic relationships with community partners, neighbors, faculty, staff, and students.”
“Dr. Ducar exemplifies the highest level of professional work in community engagement—exercising leadership in organized and sustained university-wide efforts that community partners can rely on for continuity and quality,” said Nadinne Cruz, a leader of community-based experiential learning and an innovator of the movement for the public purposes of higher education. “I congratulate Dr. Ducar for her leadership in the urgently needed work of repairing and weaving the fabric of humanity in the form of institutionalized community engagement”
The Nadinne Cruz Community Engagement Professional Award is presented as part of Campus Compact's Impact Awards, which recognize the outstanding work of individuals and institutions in pursuit of the public purposes of higher education. Read more about the other awards and this year's recipients here.
Awardees will be recognized will be recognized at Compact24, Campus Compact’s annual conference, which will be held in Denver, Colorado from April 8-10, 2024