JoAnn Miller Exemplary Community Partner Award

Who is Eligible for This Award

The JoAnn Miller Exemplary Community Partner Award recognizes local nonprofits, schools, or government units that partner with Purdue University helping the university fulfill its mission areas of teaching, research, and engagement resulting in broader or societal impact. In 2015, the award was renamed in memory of JoAnn L. Miller, who was Associate Dean of Engagement and head of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Liberal Arts. She worked passionately to further engagement with the community by Purdue students, faculty, and staff.

Nominees must be a not-for-profit organization, a school, or a governmental unit either within Indiana or within 50 miles from a Purdue University campus (e.g., Purdue West Lafayette, Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Northwest, Purdue in Indianapolis). The nominee must have partnered with Purdue to provide teaching, research, and/or engagement opportunities that resulted in service-learning opportunities for students, professional growth for Purdue staff, research for faculty, and/or meaningful engagement empowering the organization, to name a few. Internships and placements partnerships are ineligible for this award.

A key requirement for this award is that both the University and the community organization benefited from this engagement. For more information, please refer to Purdue University’s Office of Engagement Framework and Protocol. Winners will receive a $1,000 cash award.

Here’s How to Nominate

Nomination for this award can be received by Purdue staff, students, and faculty as well as external community partners. Self-nominations are also welcome. Nomination packages should not exceed 3 pages (not including support letters) and must include the following elements:

1. Community need(s) addressed by the organization’s programs and how the organization addresses the need(s)
2. How Purdue has been involved in the organization’s programs
3. How the organization and Purdue benefitted from this partnership (may describe more than one ongoing or recent partnership; please include links to programs, reports, impact stories, etc.)
4. Why the organization is deserving of the award

Nomination forms should be submitted by email as one PDF file by January 20th, 2025 to Julie Gibbs at jagibbs@purdue.edu

Additional Information