Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) today named Central College winners among its 2017 Engaged Campus Awards. Central graduate Heather Isaacson ’97 won the Community Leadership Award. And together with the Red Rock Lake Association and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Central College won the Community Partnership Award.
More than 50 students, staff, faculty, alumni and organizations from 14 Iowa colleges and universities were nominated for the Engaged Campus Awards. The award winners have built community-campus partnerships, community service programs, service-learning courses and institutional engagement.
“These honorees are using creativity, hard work and innovation to better connect communities and campuses in ways that deepen student learning and impact critical needs,” said IACC executive director Emily Shields.
Isaacson is now Dreamer Academy program director for the I Have a Dream Foundation in Des Moines. She was chosen for the Community Leadership Award, which honors alumni of member institutions for making strong contributions to their communities and demonstrating the values of the civic mission of higher education. Isaacson has worked professionally with GEAR UP, Partners in Economic Progress and student support services at Des Moines Area Community College. In her current role with the I Have a Dream Foundation, Isaacson works with five Iowa colleges and universities who have adopted classes at Findley Elementary School.
Central College has partnered with the Red Rock Lake Association and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for more than two decades. The partnership benefits central Iowa through efforts to enrich quality of life, create awareness of environmental issues in Marion County, expand healthy recreational choices for residents and visitors, and engage members of the community in collaborative service.
In addition, four other Central College nominees received honorable mentions. Vice president for student development and Title IX coordinator Peggy Fitch is honored for civic mission leadership, and senior Megan Gustafson of Story City is honored for student leadership. Director of sustainability education Brian Campbell is honored for emerging leadership, and freshman Magen Andrasko of Cumming, an Iowa College AmeriCorps Program Member, is honored as a national service member of the year.
Awards will be presented at the annual Engaged Campus Awards lunch on May 3 at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) is a statewide association of college and university presidents providing leadership for the civic mission of higher education and strengthening the capacity of our member colleges and universities to prepare all students to become engaged citizens. Learn more about their work and all the honorees at www.iacampuscompact.org.
