AUGUSTA — Maine Campus Compact hosts its annual awards ceremony recognizing the outstanding work in public service and civic engagement by Maine faculty members, students, campus organizations, community and corporate partners.

This year’s ceremony was held virtually April 28, according to a news release from the university.

Award recipients include:

• Katherine Weatherford Darling, assistant professor of sociology, was selected as a recipient of the Donald Harward Faculty Award for Service-Learning Excellence. This award recognizes outstanding Maine faculty who integrate community or public service into the curriculum and who work to institutionalize service-learning. Recipients are nominated and those selected demonstrate a clear evidence of reflection, community benefit, reciprocity with community partners, and a commitment to advocating for service-learning and/or community action on campus and beyond.

• Katherine Weatherford Darling is a medical sociologist and health equity researcher with training in feminist science studies and the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics. Her research and pedagogy actively challenge hierarchies of expertise within and beyond the university. With students and community partners leading the way, she uses participatory sociological methods to understand how social inequities impact the health of Maine communities. Students’ deep personal knowledge and embedded relationships with their communities are essential to their research, and Katherine encourages them to reflect on the interactions between their experiential and academic learning processes.

• Heidi Toner, recent UMA 2022 graduate and previous Student Government Association chair, received the Heart and Soul Student Award. This recognizes Maine undergraduate students who are actively involved in transforming their campuses and communities into environments of civic engagement. Through a nomination process, six students are selected for this honor. The award goes to students who have developed positive community and campus change; worked to institutionalize their community projects; demonstrated leadership; and implemented innovative approaches to social issues.

• Heidi Toner was a non-traditional student in the Mental Health and Human Services Program with a concentration in addictions counseling on the Bangor campus of the University of Maine at Augusta. Her two teenage daughters are her motivation and inspiration. Toner has served as president of the Bangor Student Government Association at UMA-Bangor, and also advocates for those affected by substance abuse through the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project. Her efforts on campus to bring self-care and wellness programs, breakfast/snack baskets, and toiletries to the students of UMA-Bangor have been her passion.

• UMA’s Social Science Program received the President’s Campus Leadership Award. This award recognizes a student organization or campus department at each MCC member institution for contributions to community service, service-learning, and/or civic engagement efforts on their campus.

• Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition was awarded Community Partner of the Year Award for its work with UMA’s Prison Education Partnership.

• Salvatore Cardinale was awarded the PILLARS Honorable Mention Student Award. This award recognizes philanthropy, innovation, learning, leadership, action, responsibility and service.

A link to the 2022 awards ceremony video is at youtube.com/watch?v=2leIHlRxu-0.

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