Mark Chesler has been awarded the 1998 Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement. The award recognizes early-career faculty who practice exemplary engaged scholarship through teaching and research. Recipients are selected on the basis of their collaboration with communities, institutional impact, and high-quality academic work.
Mark Chesler, Professor of Sociology and Project Director of Center for Research on Social Organization at the University of Michigan. Working with students as co-investigators, Dr. Chesler’s service and participant-in-action research address issues involving families with childhood cancer, racism and social discrimination, and injustice in organizations. He has directed community service-learning courses for 20 years and organized workshops to help faculty to improve teaching in areas of diversity.
Honorable Mentions:
Albert Camarillo, Professor of History, Stanford University for his work on poverty and homeless issues.
Hiram Fitzgerald, Professor of Psychology and Chair, Applied Developmental Science Program, Michigan State University for his work on infants and model university-community programs.
Frances Johnston, Professor, Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania whose academic outreach is in nutrition both locally and in Guatemala.
Patricia O’ Connor, Assistant Professor of English, Georgetown University for her work with prison inmates.
David Orr, Professor and Chair, Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College for his work on the environment.
Geneva Smitherman, Professor of English and Director of African-American Language and Literacy Program, Michigan State University for her work on the relationship between community relations and community speech and language and literacy programs.
Bird Stasz, Director of Elementary Education, Wells College for establishing the student literacy corps and outreach in community-based literacy and adult education.