VCU news

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University and three other universities are finalists for a national community engagement award.

VCU, Oregon State University, the University of New Hampshire and Purdue University, all members of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, will compete for the C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award as regional finalists after being selected as recipients of the 2014 Engagement Scholarship /W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award.

The universities, recognized as model programs that have had significant impact on their communities, will represent their respective regions during the 127th APLU Annual Meeting Nov. 2-4 in Orlando, Fla. The winner of the C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award will be announced at the meeting and receive a sculpture and a $20,000 prize.

VCU’s entry reflects efforts by the School of Pharmacy’s Pharmacist Collaborative Care and Outreach in the Community program, which includes seven academic-community partnerships with independent senior-living facilities and underserved clinics, five large-scale community outreach programs and programs to train the next generation of health professionals.

PCOC initiatives focus on underserved populations including the uninsured, older adults, homeless individuals and those living in rural areas. The scope of PCOC advances all four themes of VCU’s strategic plan – student success, research, health and community engagement.

Through the initiatives, 14 School of Pharmacy faculty members, 500 students and 35 residents have provided more than 20,000 patient care encounters in the Greater Richmond Area. PCOC initiatives are integrated with service-learning courses, advanced pharmacy practice experiences, electives and interprofessional education experiences.

A team of 31 community engagement experts judged the first round of the competition. A second team will pick the national winner following presentations at the 2014 National Engagement Scholarship Consortium in October.

Since 2006, APLU and the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, have partnered to recognize the engagement scholarship and partnerships of four-year public universities. The award recognizes programs that demonstrate how colleges and universities have redesigned their learning, discovery and engagement missions to become even more involved with their communities. The national award is named for C. Peter Magrath, APLU president from 1992 to 2005.

 

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