UNLV 2025 Community Engagement Award Recipients Announced

UNLV's Office of Government and Community Engagement is pleased to announce this year's recipients of the UNLV 2025 Community Engagement Awards!

These annual campus-wide awards recognize students, staff, and faculty for their exceptional community engagement in the areas of 1) service-learning, 2) community-based research, 3) faculty/staff community outreach activity, and 4) student service. 

This year's recipients are:

  • Service-Learning Award Recipient: LeAnne Salazar Montoya, College of Education
  • Community-Based Research Award Recipient: Amanda Haboush-Deloye, School of Public Health
  • Faculty/Staff Outreach Award Recipient: Kenneth Varner, College of Education 
  • Student Service Award Recipient: Maria Palapa Vargas, Social and Behavioral Health

Additionally, the following individuals received honorable mentions in each category:

  • Service-Learning Award Honorable Mention: Jennifer Young, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine 
  • Community-Based Research Award Honorable Mention: Ying Guo, School of Public Health
  • Faculty/Staff Outreach Award Honorable Mentions: Cristina Hernandez, School of Public Health; Erica Marti, College of Engineering; Jennifer Byrnes, College of Liberal Arts; and Tracy Viscosi, Honors College
  • Student Service Award Honorable Mentions: Imer Cespedes-Alvarado, Political Science; Kyle “Kai” Fairweather, Business; Liam Johnson, Anthropology; and Courtney Thornton, Medicine

More information about this year’s award recipients' community engagement work will be shared in the coming weeks. We also look forward to recognizing this year's recipients at the annual Academic Achievement Awards ceremony in April.

Please join us in congratulating these individuals for leveraging UNLV's strengths to develop strong partnerships that are mutually beneficial, promote the value of the university, and enrich the intellectual and cultural vitality of our community and beyond!

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