MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ? Middlebury College senior Jessica Cox was named the 2007 winner of the Vermont Campus Compact (VCC) TD Banknorth Commitment to Service and Engagement Award. This award is given to one student in each VCC-member institution to honor both the breadth and depth of her or his community involvement. 

Each year VCC, a statewide consortium of colleges and universities strengthening the civic mission of higher education, honors students, faculty and staff, and community agencies with whom they partner, for their contributions and impact on Vermont communities through campus service, service-learning and civic engagement. All winners and finalists were honored at the VCC Gala on Thursday, March 29, at the Vermont State House in Montpelier. Marc vanderHeyden, Saint Michael’s College President and VCC Chair, presided, and TD Banknorth President Phil Daniels was on hand to present the Commitment to Service and Engagement Awards. A reception, student presentations and a multimedia show followed the awards ceremony.

Cox organized the annual Midd Kid for a Day event, in which Middlebury hosts middle school students in the community and exposes them to the college experience. She also works directly with community members as a Community Friends mentor, and a volunteer at the Addison County Parent Child Center. Cox has traveled internationally and taught at rural village camps in the African nation of Malawi, with emphasis on HIV/AIDS and environmental curriculum.

Other VCC Gala award winners include the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, which was named as Middlebury College’s 2007 Engaged Partner. This award is given to one community partner for each VCC-member institution that has worked with a campus to develop and sustain a lasting partnership. The John W. Graham Emergency Shelter (JGES) partners with Middlebury College’s Alliance for Civic Engagement (ACE) to support the civic mission of Middlebury’s campus and increase community awareness of poverty issues.

In addition to the award winners, Middlebury College junior Alexander Hall was named a finalist for the Madeleine M. Kunin Public Service Award for his extensive contributions as a summer intern with the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter.

Middlebury College Associate Professor of Spanish Gloria Gonzalez was named a finalist for the Engaged Scholar Award. Teaching in both the Spanish and Latin American Studies programs, Gonzales uses local and contemporary context to integrate her work on the human conditions of Latinos in various contexts into her teaching, research and service.

Middlebury College Professor of Economics Michael Claudon was named a finalist for the Award for Excellence in Community-Based Teaching. This award is given to one faculty member in Vermont who has made public service an integral part of their teaching.   
 
The Middlebury College environmental partnership with the Middlebury College Snow Bowl was also recognized as a finalist for the Campus/Community Partnership Award. Middlebury junior Clayton Reed and 2006 graduate Thomas Hand made a presentation to the Vermont Campus Compact Board of Directors and state legislators about how their work in undergraduate academic courses helped the Snow Bowl to become a carbon neutral facility.

A list of award winners and finalists, as well as descriptions of their accomplishments, is available at http://www.vtcampuscompact.org/awards07.htm.