Awards: The 2008 Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award
The application deadline for The 2008 Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award has passed. Award winners will be selected and announced mid-May. The Swearer award will no longer be offered after 2008. Please see our Frank Newman Leadership Award.
Each year since 1987, five students at Campus Compact member schools have been honored with this prestigious award. The award recognizes students for their innovative strategies in addressing community issues and needs, and their efforts to build and sustain this work among their peers and within their institution. Five awards are available to undergraduate students at Campus Compact member colleges and universities, one of which is reserved for a student at a 2-year institution.
Selection Process
To recognize the excellent work of as many students as possible, and to build networks of student leaders around the country, Campus Compact has implemented a state/national selection process for the Swearer Award.
State Compact offices will review all applications from students studying within their state and select up to three finalists to join the national pool. In many cases, these finalists will be honored with state-level awards. Applications from states without a state Campus Compact office are evaluated by the national Campus Compact office.
Application requirements and deadlines may vary from state to state. You can find specific information on your state's requirements on the online application page or by contacting your state Campus Compact office.
Eligibility
All students at member community colleges, and all non-senior undergraduate students at member four-year colleges, are eligible.
Swearer Award Criteria
Students' application materials should demonstrate:
- An innovative approach to building or enhancing campus-based efforts to address community issues and needs;
- Use of diverse strategies of engagement (service, service-learning, policy work, advocacy, etc.);
- Ability to lead, inspire, and engage other students and/or members of the institution;
- Efforts to sustain engagement by developing strategies to build their work into the institution's structure.
Application Requirements
- Completed online application form and essay (2 pages)
- Letter of Nomination from the college president, community service or service learning director, or a faculty member familiar with the student's work.
- Commitment to attend award ceremony if selected (location TBD)
- If selected, a six-month follow-up/progress report
Award
$1,500 for each student: a $250 donation to a service program/organization the student has been involved with and a $1,250 award for student's use in professional development (for example, travel to and accommodation at conferences).
Application Deadline
Application deadlines vary by state. Please read the application materials carefully to determine the closing date for applications in your state.
For questions regarding the award, contact Campus Compact at awards2008@compact.org.
For more information about the award, read History and Previous Recipients.
Being a part of Campus Compact has let us touch the heart and soul of building better communities while improving teaching and learning for faculty and students. James A. Drake, President, Brevard Community College