The Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship honors and supports faculty members who have facilitated a transformative experience for Cornell students in any number of community-engaged learning contexts.

In 2001, the Kaplan family—Barbara Kaplan ’59; her husband, Leslie Kaplan; son Doug Kaplan ’88 and daughter Emily Kaplan Dodge ’91—established the Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship. The Kaplans recognized that in order to confront the world’s most challenging questions, higher education must be more deeply committed to civic engagement. With their early support, the Kaplans ensured Cornell’s lasting commitment to community-engaged learning. Since its inception the Fellowship has celebrated and supported dozens of faculty who strengthen and sustain this critical work on campus. 

Each year the Kaplan Fellowship is awarded to one faculty member who receives $10,000 to further develop an ongoing community-based learning course or research project, to initiate a new effort or to seek institutionalization of a community-engaged learning course.

The recipient will be honored at the Einhorn Center awards event on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

Applicants must be full-time Cornell faculty members and able to demonstrate a commitment to community-engaged learning.

The application includes:

• Applicant name, title, NetID, email address, college/school
• Brief (300-word max) narrative descriptions of:
  • The applicant’s proposed project. The proposal may involve further developing an ongoing community-based learning course or research project, initiating a new effort or seeking institutionalization of a community-engaged learning course. 
  • How the project engages the community, adds value to the particular community and involves community partners in aspects of its planning and implementation. 
  • How Cornell students will engage with the project and the target student population (quantity, class years, majors).
  • How the project will meet the 4-point criteria for community-engaged learning.
  • Plans for sustaining the community-engagement opportunity for students beyond any single cohort.
  • How award funding will be used to support project goals.
• Support letter from a community partner who will collaborate on and benefit from the project
• Support letter from the applicant’s department chair
• Applicant’s CV (3-page max) 

Contact the Einhorn Center at einhorncenter@cornell.edu with any questions.