Richard A. Couto has been awarded the 2000 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.
Richard A. Couto is Professor and George Matthews and Virginia Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. Over the past 25 years, his engaged scholarship has integrated community-based, problem-centered teaching and research. Linking participatory action research, community change and policy is a cornerstone of each effort he undertakes whether at the local, national or international level. Dr. Couto, along with his students, works with community groups through multi-site programs that contribute to the development of health services, social services, and community organizations in low-income, rural communities. His work has influenced colleagues, court cases, public policy, foundation programs, community leaders and organizations, and, most notably, students.
Honorable Mentions:
Fran Ansley is a Professor in the College of Law at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK). A founder of the Community Partnerships Center at UTK, Dr. Ansley and her students have conducted community-based research on issues related to welfare reform and empowering recent immigrants in the state of Tennessee
Gail Della Piana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture and Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University in Ohio. She has developed exchange programs and innovative collaborations between Miami University and universities and village communities in Ghana.
Brenda Jarmon is an Assistant Professor and the Associate Director of the Undergraduate Program in the School of Social Work at Florida State University. Focusing on the needs of the Tallahassee, Florida community, particularly in the area of teen pregnancy prevention, Dr. Jarmon has demonstrated a passion for educating and inspiring others.
Kenneth Reardon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year he is also a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. His work in East St. Louis, Illinois links his academic research and teaching of architecture and urban planning with revitalizing a disadvantaged community.
Steven Zuckeris the Director of the Area Health Education Centers Program and a Professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the College of Allied Health, and the College of Dentistry at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Zucker’s research and teaching efforts have improved the access to and quality of health services for isolated and remote rural communities, inner-city communities, and minority groups on a local, state, and national level.