The third annual Community Engagement Awards brought together students, faculty, staff and community partners to celebrate the power of collaboration and connection. Hosted by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement on April 8 in the Statler Hotel Ballroom, the event recognized the diverse and far-reaching efforts of those working to create positive change in Ithaca and around the world.
That theme carried into the evening’s opening remarks, as President Michael I. Kotlikoff highlighted the institution’s distinctive culture of relationships. “The signature feature of Cornell is our community and the ability to communicate and collaborate across disciplines,” he said. “This extends beyond university walls, and it’s the bonds we form as we participate in the community that really make this university something special.”
Katherine McComas, Ph.D. ’00, vice provost for engagement and land-grant affairs, emphasized the crucial role of community partners in sustaining these ties. “None of this would be possible without your trust in us, your mentorship of our students and our faculty and staff and your help in sharing what we can do better,” she said.
The program also featured a keynote from Nancy Andes, Ph.D. ’84, professor emerita of sociology and founding director of the Center for Community Engagement and Learning at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She cited the Einhorn Center as “a tremendous resource that brings us together, fosters open dialog and active inquiry and helps address community challenges.”
The awards ceremony honored 15 faculty and seven students for their community-engaged work. Dean of faculty and Mibs Martin Follett Professor in Human Ecology Eve De Rosa, praised faculty for enriching students’ education through applied learning, which she said fosters a sense of civic responsibility and prepares students for a life of engagement with others.
McComas began by recognizing one faculty member from each Cornell college and school with Community-Engaged Practice and Innovation Awards for developing community-engaged learning, leadership or research activities that create learning opportunities for students. This year’s recipients partner with organizations from Ithaca to India — including food pantries, schools, unions and Indigenous groups — making an impact around the globe.
Janet Loebach, the Evalyn Edwards Milman Professor in Child Development in the College of Human Ecology, received the George D. Levy Engaged Teaching and Research Award for her collaboration with Fall Creek Elementary School and the Ithaca City School District. She and her students led a participatory design process centering children’s ideas for reimagining their schoolyard. The project resulted in a design brief now guiding renovations and inspired the creation of a Co-Design Playbook to support similar efforts elsewhere. Basil Safi, M.Eng. ’24, executive director of the Einhorn Center, presented the award, which was given for the tenth and final time this year.
Chloe Ahmann, assistant professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, received the Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in recognition of her work supporting environmental justice efforts in South Baltimore. With funding from the fellowship, Ahmann is launching a cross-institutional course in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, which will connect students with local activists to co-create educational materials and support a Title VI civil rights complaint against the city. The award was presented by Doug Kaplan ’88.
As the evening’s focus shifted to student awards, Marla Love, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students, highlighted community-engaged learning as a path of transformation. “Not everything comes from a textbook or from this hill, but there are lots of other great opportunities to engage and continue to be lifelong learners, to be challenged, to be humbled, to learn to follow and to lead,” she said.
Sophie Gustin ’25 exemplifies that spirit of growth and leadership. The recipient of the 2025 Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Award was inspired by her community engagement at Cayuga Medical Center’s inpatient mental health unit to launch the Higher Education Reintegration Program (HRP) to provide support for students returning to campus after hospitalization for mental health concerns. Trained peers lead weekly group meetings, helping participants feel seen and connected. Her award was presented by Renée Farkas, director of student programs in the Einhorn Center.
Samhita Korukonda ’27, Michelle Tcherevatenko ’25 and Keishaun Wade ’25 are this year’s winners of the Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Awards. Korukonda created CommuniCare, a machine learning–based app that connects underserved individuals to free and low-cost healthcare resources, assembling a team of 25 students and raising nearly $20,000. Tcherevatenko, an EMS captain of the Varna Volunteer Fire Company, is equipping emergency vehicles with sensory kits to help neurodiverse patients during crises, with plans to expand the initiative countywide. Wade is launching a nonprofit collaborative and a collective housing union in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, to promote sustainable, community-driven solutions to a severe housing crisis. Their presenter was Loren Feingold ’93, senior director of institutional advancement at Brandeis University and a 1993 recipient of the Robinson-Appel Award.
Farzan Hussainzada ’25, a native of Afghanistan, received this year’s Class of 1964 John F. Kennedy Memorial Award to honor his commitment to public service and plans to embark on a career as an immigration lawyer. During his time at Cornell, Hussainzada explored the United States immigration and legal systems through several internships and honed his leadership skills in the International Students Association and as co-founder and president of the Organization for Afghan Students. Human rights lawyer Jared Genser ’95, who received the JFK Memorial Award three decades ago, did the honors, also acknowledging two finalists, Molly Goldstein ’25 and Andrew Juan ’25.
In closing, Safi noted the growing number of people across campus involved in community-engaged work. Nearly 80 percent of graduating seniors and 500 faculty have participated.
“So as you leave this room, please share what you’ve learned today,” he said. “When you see a societal need or opportunity, think about how we can leverage the resources here across campus and with our community partners to help find solutions to the problems we see in our global society.”
